Nightmares
by Decrosse
Summary: A young Kovu deals with being accepted into Simba's Pride, and though everything seems fine there is more going on. Nightmares plague the lions, Kovu feeling something is off. Recently he and Simba have unintentionally arguing more and more. But one thought remains on Kovu's mind: What did Zira truly mean by The Chosen One?
1. Be Prepared: It Is Time

A/N: This is a Co-Authored with Delta2060!

* * *

As the young adult lion Kovu walked up Pride Rock, accepted by Simba and happy to be with his love Kiara he couldn't help but feel nervous and a bit guilty as all his life he had been trained to kill Simba and yet, here he was beside the large lion, on Pride Rock for his and Kiara's wedding ceremony. On a nuzzle from Kiara he forced those thoughts back in his mind, giving a smile as he watched Simba nuzzle Nala before the King let out a huge roar.

Kovu did the same after, with an equally as huge roar if not bigger. Then the group roared together.

Quite a spectacle to signal that the trouble had passed, and that good times lay ahead. Behind them was a small crowd of lionesses, some from the original pride and some that had joined from Zira's pride. Among them was Vitani, and with the new additions the pride was now made up of twenty four lion members. Some of the lions below Pride rock repeated the roars of the four standing atop the ledge before they concluded and turned away, returning to the group near the mouth of Pride rock's cave.

The wedding ceremony was over and now Kiara and Kovu were married.

"I'm so glad we've managed to finally do this" Kiara exclaimed to her new husband.

Kovu gave Kiara an affectionate lick on the cheek. Simba was happy for his daughter, just as Nala was, but he still couldn't get that nightmare out of his head. The one where Scar became Kovu and threw him off the cliff. Simba knew it was stupid really, it was just a dream, and Kovu had already proven himself to him by helping Kiara reunite the two prides. But he still couldn't escape a bad feeling that lingered in the back of his mind.

"Why don't you two go and spend some time together around the Pridelands?" Nala suggested to the newly weds.

"Alright. Come on Kiara, I'll give you another lesson on stealth hunting if you like." Kovu said.

"Sure. We'll be back soon mum." Kiara said.

"Make sure you're back by night time. Don't want to have to send out a search party." Simba instructed.

"Oh, daddy, we'll be back before then. Don't worry."

Kiara and Kovu then happily wandered off down the slope and away from Pride rock. Simba and Nala watched as they disappeared on the horizon.

"Well this is going to take some getting used to."

Simba and Nala looked round and saw where that voice had come from.

Vitani was now stood next to Simba, also watching as Kiara and her brother got further and further away.

"You and your brother are quite close, aren't you?" Nala asked.

"Of course we are." Vitani replied. "We grew up together and always had to support our pride together. But I'm still happy Kovu now."

"Well I think you'll be even more happy for him when I announce that I'm going to make him my heir." Simba told them.

"Are you sure, Simba?" Nala asked, concerned. "Only a couple days ago you were trying to kill him and his pride."

"I know what I did but he and Kiara made me realize that we're all the same underneath. And he is married to Kiara now so really he has to become the next king."

"Yeah. Imagine that." Vitani said. "My brother being the king of the Pridelands. Anyway, I have to go and make myself more familiar with this place, since I'm living here for the rest of my life. Catch ya both later maybe."

"See you later, Vitani." Said Nala.

Simba gave a nod and Vitani departed to go and learn more about her new home. She wanted to know every inch of the Pridelands off by heart, just like she had one in the Outlands. Old habits probably.

Kiara and Kovu had stopped at an empty valley with long grass and a few dozen rocks lying around randomly. Kovu thought this would be the perfect place to teach Kiara some more hunting skills and he a particular technique in mind.

"Okay. You go and hide yourself in the grass, I won't look. Then when I say go, you try and sneak up and pounce on me. Remember what I taught you last time." Kovu explained.

"Alright. I'm gonna get you this time, I know I will." Boasted a confident Kiara as she waited for Kovu to close his eyes so she could sneak away and take position.

She placed herself down in the long grass about a hundred feet from Kovu, who had now taken to lying down on a large but flat rock with his back turned. Kiara readied herself and she began to take slow and quiet steps towards him. She was impressed that she hadn't made any noise yet. She was taking Kovu's advice and feeling the earth under her paws and breathing silently.

Now she was close enough to pounce and, hopefully, land on Kovu. Kiara adjusted her stance to one that would better help her propel herself at her target. And then she leapt, and to her surprise, Kovu didn't down. This was the first time Kiara had managed to successfully pounce on Kovu. The two of them went tumbling to the ground and Kiara was left lying on top of Kovu, his face showing that he was totally taken by surprise.

"Look, I even pinned you as well!" Kiara cheered.

"You finally did it! Well done." Kovu congratulated her. "But do you think you could, um... Get off of me now?"

Kiara just giggled.

Later that same day, about an hour before sunset, Kiara and Kovu were making their way back to Pride rock from one of the grazing grounds near the edge of the Pridelands where they had been hunting together. Kovu was helping Kiara along because earlier she'd tripped on some rocks and hurt her front paw, probably sprained or twisted. Nothing too serious though. But they would wait to see what Rafiki thought before they jumped to conclusions.

Kovu lifted Kiara over a ditch and she responded with:

"Really Kovu, I'm fine. It's just a bruise."

"Not from where I'm looking it's not. Now stop whining and let me help you." Kovu replied.

"Fine. Simba won't be very happy about this."

"Relax. I'll tell him it was an accident and he'll be fine with it. You really should have been paying more attention by those rocks."

"Guess I was just busy admiring you, huh?"

As they went on Kovu was thinking. He was thinking about recent events. About his mothers death over the river. In a way he felt responsible, even though there wasn't any reason for him to be. What was he supposed to do? Carry on obeying Zira and go through with killing Simba? No, not after he met Kiara and fell in love with her. Their love was much stronger than any psycho plot to gain control of the Pridelands. But Kovu couldn't help thinking that he was going to struggle to adjust his life to living here, especially after what had happened over the last week or so.

Pride rock was now in sight in the distance and Kiara was beginning to walk better. She detached herself from Kovu's support and walked a few feet on her own. She was still limping a bit but she was walking all the same.

"I think it's getting better now." She said.

"Well, go and see Rafiki just in case."

"Aren't you coming with me?"

"No. I... I need to be alone for a bit. I'll catch you up later though. I promise."

"Well, Okay. I can manage from here back to the cave. I'll see you later." Kiara said as she turned and headed in the direction of the stone monument that was her home.

Kovu watched her a short while longer before wandering off in the other direction. He passed a small pond, the same one he ran through after he was exiled by Simba just two days ago. How fast things change.

Kovu didn't know how long he'd been wandering around the Pridelands for as he'd lost track of the time, but it was and had been dark for over half an hour now so he decided to head on back to Pride rock. He'd been having a good, long, hard think about things and he was confident that he could adapt to this new life. All he wanted tonight was to sleep next to Kiara again, the first time he'd be able to do so in complete peace.

As he came up the steps to the cave he saw that Simba was waiting at the entrance with Kiara by his side. He was clearly waiting for him because he was looking straight at him.

"Kovu! Up here!" Simba called. His voice wasn't angry as such, but it did have a hint of displease in it.

Kovu obeyed and went and stood in front of the king, his red mane blowing around in the late evening winds.

"Evening, Simba." Kovu began.

"Kovu, can I have a word?" Simba asked.

"Um, yeah, sure."

"Good. Now I'll overlook the fact that you're late back because you've only been here a couple of days. But I'd like to know why you let Kiara come back on her own after she had an accident."

"Daddy, I told you I was fine by then." Kiara joined in.

"I'm sorry, Simba." Kovu replied. "But believe me, she was walking quite well when I left her. She even said so herself that it didn't hurt. I just needed some time alone to think some things through."

"I still think it might have been better if you'd brought Kiara back first and then went off on your own."

Kovu sighed.

"I'm sorry. Really."

Simba looked at Kovu, then at his daughter, and then back at Kovu again.

"Oh, alright. I'll forgive you for now."

"Thanks." Kovu said.

"Thank you, daddy." Kiara added before she went inside the cave.

Kovu was about follow his wife inside when Simba stopped him. But not forcefully.

"Um... Is there anything else?" The dark young lion asked, raising an eyebrow.

Simba was still unsure about Kovu in a way. He resembled Scar too much, he thought. Simba was going to try something.

"Um, yeah... Kovu. You don't... believe in your fath- In Scar do you?" He asked.

"No. I never did. Well, not since I met Kiara anyway. But back when I did it was because Zira had brought me up to believe him. But now I see just how bad he was."

"Okay. Good, I was just checking... You know. To make sure you weren't... Um..."

"You don't think I'm still following in Scar's paw prints do you?"

"No, not all. But... I just can't escape the feeling that-"

"Well I promise you that I'd never turn evil like Scar. And I hope you don't ever think that." Kovu said, raising his voice now.

"Of course not. But it was just that, your name does mean scar, and-"

"Look, I want nothing to do with Scar or Zira ever again. So please, don't even mention them to me. Now if you'll excuse me, goodnight your majesty."

Kovu then stormed off into the cave, ignoring Simba as he went by.

Simba hadn't meant to upset Kovu, but it seemed like he had. The truth was that they had both been severely affected by Scar and Zira in different ways, but both negatively nonetheless.

Simba entered the cave and laid down beside Nala. Hopefully tomorrow would go a bit smoother.

That night it was a peaceful bliss in the Pridelands. Crickets were chirping but there was no one awake to hear them as the moon shone down over the quiet, empty land. The peace extended into the cave of Pride rock where all the lions were happily asleep.

Mostly.

Kovu was tossing and turning in his sleep, mumbling.

"Mother... No... Mother..."

Kovu found himself back at the rocky plain that ran over the river in the Pridelands. The one he had been at only three days ago, stood in the pouring rain with him and Kiara stood between Simba and Zira's prides. They had just about been in time to stop the two leaders from finishing each other off for good, jumping in their way right at the last moment. This was the heroic act that had convinced Simba to let Kovu join the pride permanently along with the other lions from Zira's pride after she died.

Even though Zira was a deranged follower of Scar Kovu still felt saddened by her passing. She was his mother so it was only natural in a way. But he still could never forgive the things she and Scar did over the years before and while he was growing up. She had even gone as far as to craft and use Kovu as a weapon to kill Simba. Thankfully that conditioning had failed when Kovu fell in love with Kiara.

But now Kovu was back at the river side again. The rain was still coming down hard but there was no other lion or lioness to be seen.

"Huh, strange."

Then there was a deafening cry from over the edge of the ledge. One that Kovu recognised as his dead mother, Zira. Kovu rushed over to see what was going on and as he peered his head over to look down he saw Zira hanging from some paw holes in the side of the rock, dangling precariously over the rushing water.

Not this again!

"Mum!" Kovu shouted.

He didn't know why he was caring so much right now. He hated Zira for what she did to him and the others. And yet here he was getting all worried about her impending death.

"Kovu! Help me!" Zira pleaded.

The lionesses paw slipped which left her hanging from just the one.

Kovu couldn't help but climb on down and pull his mother back up to safety. He took quick but careful steps down to where she was and when he got there he reached out his paw. He was about to do it, but then he felt two big paws on his back and he looked behind him. Stood above him, was Simba, looking calm and unphased by what was happening below.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Kovu." He said.

"What?" Kovu responded in puzzlement.

"Kovu! Please! I'm your mother!" Zira continued to plead.

Simba suddenly dragged Kovu back up the cliff face and tossed him away from the edge, making him land on his side. Zira couldn't hold on any longer and she slipped again, this time losing her grip completely. She went plummeting down into the freezing, rushing water and was swept away, probably being killed in the process.

All Kovu heard up where he was was loud splash and a scream. He got to his paws and rushed back to the edge of the cliff and looked down. Zira was nowhere to be seen.

Kovu's heart skipped a beat. He couldn't believe he'd just failed... Again, to save his mother from death. Kovu looked up and at Simba beside him, a grin across the golden lion's face.

"You won't be needing her now that you're part of our family." Simba said. "Unless you think there's still something of the past in you. Something dark."

And then... Nothing...

Kovu woke with a startle. Springing up in the cave and gasping. It was over now, thank god. He looked around and saw Simba and Nala across from him and Kiara by his side. Kiara's younger brother, Kion was sleeping near Vitani on the other side and all the lions were asleep still.

"Jesus Christ..." Muttered Kovu.

He lay his head back down and tried to return to sleep.

It's only a nightmare, that's all.

Wind was a rather prominent factor of the next morning. As Simba stood proudly at the edge of Pride rock's ledge with his mane blowing around in the gusts. Kovu emerged from the cave when the large lion was still taking in the air. Kovu had overslept by the looks of it but he had no idea how long. He was surprised that no one decided to wake him sooner actually. As the younger, darker lion slowly came closer to Simba he caught a glimpse of the rocky plain in the distance that was above the river. He still had terrible memories of that place. His mother falling to her death and probably drowning, the fact that he wasn't able to do anything and didn't even try now that he came to think about it.

In a way Zira deserved it but the trouble was Kovu still had a natural mother-son bond with her, as all animals do. Which was surprising after all that had happened between them both.

Anyway, those bad thoughts and memories aside, Kovu was now coming up behind Simba. He went to the left a bit and parked himself down net to Simba.

Simba turned to acknowledge him and said "Hi, Kovu. Are you alright? You don't look too happy."

"It's nothing. Really." Kovu replied, bowing his head and sighing. Clearly something was wrong.

"Is it about last night? A nightmare you had, was it?" Simba asked.

Kovu looked quickly and said "What? How do you know about that?"

"You thought I was asleep last night? After the noise you were making? I heard and saw you when you woke up. I know the feeling by the way. Waking from a horrible dream and finding you're still in Pride rock, safe."

"Okay, yes I was having a nightmare. I think you can guess what about as well."

"Zira at the river side?"

"Correct."

Simba stood up and walked away from the edge of the platform. He sat down again about halfway between the edge and the cave mouth. Kovu got up and followed him over. Kovu sighed again and continued.

"I just... Wish I'd done something to save her. You know?"

"Kovu, there was really nothing that you could have done to save her. I'm sorry. And I don't want to sound harsh but we're honestly all better that she's gone. I know you think the same too, that she was destroying us all. You have to admit that at least."

"I do. But you get where I'm coming from with this, right?"

"Of course I do. I've had a somewhat similar experience before too."

Kovu knew all about that. Simba had told him one time about how Scar had thrown Mufasa to his death over the edge in a canyon and watched as he fell into the dark crowd of wildebeest below. It was something that he thought no cub should ever have to witness.

About a minute of silence went by before one of the lions spoke again. It was Kovu.

"By the way. I never really sorry about that ambush did I? Well, I'll say it now. I'm sorry about the ambush with Zira."

"Kovu, you don't have to apologize about that. You didn't plan it and you had no idea it was going to happen."

"Well, I wouldn't say I had no idea it would happen. I mean, I knew that Zira was going to do something since I never got back to her, although I didn't know what she would have in mind."

"Wait, you knew about it? I thought you said you didn't know it was going to happen?" Simba face became sterner now.

"What? Wait, no Simba, I said I knew that she would do something, not that I knew the ambush would take place."

"Why didn't you tell me that you had a feeling something would happen? In fact why didn't you just say to me in the first place that Zira was using you to kill me? I could have done something about it you know."

Kovu took a deep breath. This conversation had suddenly gone in completely the wrong direction.

"Look Simba, years of being told and trained to kill you meant there was nothing else for me to think about. The only reason I defected from Zira's plan was because I fell in love with Kiara. Now I would never hurt any of you, believe me."

Simba's face was beginning to turn angry for some reason. Kovu couldn't quite work out why though, there wasn't really a good reason for him to get angry.

"The only reason you didn't kill me was because you fell in love Kiara? So it nothing to do with actually liking me then?"

"No. Simba that's not it. I do like you. I like all the pride and I'll protect every last one of them just as much as you would."

Things were getting very out of hand quite quickly. Thankfully though Simba's tone lightened a bit when he next spoke.

"Alright. Well I hope it stays that way Scar-" Simba cut himself off right at that moment. He hadn't meant to say Scar instead of Kovu. Why did he say that?

Kovu clearly noticed and now it him that was getting agitated.

"What did you call me? You know full well that I'm not that murderous tyrant! Now you may have problems from the past but so do I, Alright!"

"I'm not going to argue about who's had a worse cubhood!"

The two lions were now standing opposite one another, teeth bared. Simba, however, was larger than Kovu by a mile so Kovu was being very cautious of him. When Simba was this triggered he could quite easily attack him at any moment.

"I'm still the king and don't you forget it, Kovu! And if you think for one minute that you can overthrow me then you're wrong."

"What? I never said anything about overthrowing you. I think you're getting a bit over your own head. You know I would never try and take over. Not me, not Vitani, not any of the Outlanders."

That was true at least. Kovu, Vitani, and all of the outlander lions had come over from Zira without any hints of treachery at all. Even Vitani, who perhaps had had even more wish to see Simba dead, had come over and turned good with the pride. So if she was changed then Kovu certainly was. And anyway, Kovu was given multiple opportunities to attack Simba and yet he never did, further proving his loyalty to the king.

Kovu decided he'd had enough of the conflict and turned and stormed off.

"You know what, I'm going to see where Kiara's gone." He asserted. Then he softened his voice slightly. "Come and talk with me again when you've calmed down and sorted some things out. How about that?"

And then the dark lion was gone, leaving Simba alone on the ledge to think about the tension that had just taken place. Twice in two days now he and Kovu had been engaged in an argument. Things would need to change if this new pride was ever going to get along.

Simba eventually started to calm down, realizing just how much of an obnoxious idiot he had acted like. He promised himself that next time he and Kovu talked things would be much more friendly.

* * *

The three friends ran across the savannah, each one trying to outrun the other two until they all came to a cluster of rocks where they ducked down and stayed quiet. On the other side of the rocks was a herd of gazelles. Kiara, Tiifu and Zuri watched them closely from their place of cover, observing the herbivorous creatures' every movement. Today was the first time Kiara had been out hunting since a few days ago when she was caught out in the fire that Kovu saved her from. Her two best friends had also opted to come along. They could be more efficient in a three anyway.

"Okay." Kiara whispered. "Now as soon as one is far away enough from the others, you know what to do?"

"Yeah." Tiifu replied quietly.

"Sure." Zuri did the same.

The three lionesses continued to track their prey with their watchful eyes. All they needed was patience to wait until one of the gazelles wandered too far from the rest of the herd, and then they could take it down.

Kiara was eyeing up a small gazelle to the right that was starting to stray from the others, but it wasn't quite in a position where it could be easily picked off yet.

"This one here looks like a good target." Kiara pointed out her intended victim.

"It's still too close to the herd." Tiifu said.

"Just a bit further..."

A few moments went by and the small gazelle finally broke off from the rest of its herd. The three huntresses readied themselves to all pounce at once and then, they struck.

The whole herd was jumped and scattered around in all different directions while Kiara and her friends targeted the small one left behind. It struggled to resist the grip of three lionesses for a while but eventually it somehow managed to slip free, racing off to find its own kind again.

Kiara, Tiifu and Zuri got to their feet after recollecting themselves from the commotion and saw their victim disappearing into the distance, feeling quite disheartened at the failed kill.

"Dammit." Kiara spat. "Who wasn't holding it down tight enough?"

"It wasn't me." Tiifu responded.

"Well don't look at me. I was practically sat on the thing." Zuri said.

Kiara wasn't happy about the gazelle getting away. But then again, she was still rather inexperienced as a hunter. Maybe if she and the others practiced a bit more they could pull off a successful kill.

Kiara turned to the others.

"Well, practice makes perfect, aye girls? We can try again later."

Tiifu and Zuri seemed to be fine with the suggestion as they smiled at their friend.

Another lionesses suddenly turned up and came over to the trio. Her fur was a kind of golden orange mix and she had purple-blue eyes. Vitani.

"Hey." Kiara said. "You alright?"

"Yeah. I'm fine." Vitani replied. "Just taking a look around the place, that's all. I hate not knowing the layout of where I live."

"Fair enough. So what do you think of Kovu being announced the next king of the Pridelands?"

"I think it's terrific." Vitani replied quite excitedly. "To think my brother will be in charge of the Pridelands on day. I kind of wish I was him if I'm honest. Anyway, I won't keep you any longer. You can go back to whatever it was you were doing if you like."

"Okay. See you later back at Pride rock then."

Vitani then left the trio, her head moving in every possible direction in order to take in her fairly new surroundings.

"She seems very... Enthusiastic about this." Zuri pointed out.

"Yeah. And I thought I was the one meant too be that way." Kiara replied.

* * *

Kovu was wandering by himself through an area heavily populated with trees and foliage. The branches were very dense around ground level meaning not a lot of light could get through to the centre and there wasn't much in the way of being able to see ahead very far. It was very isolated from the rest of the Pridelands in fact. A perfect place for Kovu to have some alone time since there weren't any other animals there either.

Kovu sat down by a circular flat rock to rest for a few minutes. Things had been going downhill recently with him and Simba. It's not as though he disliked him in anyway, in fact he admired the king, but for some reason there was a feeling in the back of Kovu's head that was ruining things. Something he couldn't explain. All he knew was that it reminded him of his supposed father, Scar. The evil lion that had made him his 'chosen one'.

Kovu bowed his head, closed his eyes and sighed.

"When will this end?"

Kovu opened his eyes again. There was a puddle at his feet, still and reflective. He gazed into it mindlessly for a few moments. He found it calming but he got the shock of his life though when all of a sudden his eyes appeared to be a brighter shade of green, just like Scar's eyes used to be! And on top of that his reflection seemed to grotesquely morph into an exact copy of Scar himself, every feature exact to the original.

"No!" Kovu cried in horror.

Kovu pulled himself away from the puddle containing the horrid reflection and tried to calm himself down. Once he had done so he returned to the circle of shallow water and took another look inside. He was back to being Kovu again, thank god!

But something still wasn't quite right. The mouth of the lion in the puddle moved and words came out, but Kovu himself wasn't saying anything. How could a reflection be talking on its own?

"You think you've escaped me, don't you?" It said. "Well you're wrong. I will always be with you. That I have ensured."

"What the hell is going on?" Kovu demanded, although he wasn't quite sure who to.

"Don't you remember me, Kovu? You're dear and loving guardian, Scar?"

Kovu's eyes widened in horror.

"What? You're not Scar. Scar's dead. And I don't want anything to do with him anyway."

The reflection began to laugh and it started to look more like Scar than Kovu, becoming a weird mix between the two. It spoke again.

"You're a fool boy. I live on in you, don't you see that? You were my chosen one. But it seems you never understood what chosen one actually meant."

"What? What does it mean? Tell me!" Kovu bared his teeth as he started to get angrier at the lion in the puddle.

He didn't receive a reply however as the lion in the puddle quickly reverted back to Kovu. And this time it really was Kovu. He moved his head from left to right and the reflection did the same.

Kovu, still confused, brought his head back up and looked around. What had just happened? He'd never experienced something like that before.

Kovu, now somehow frightened by the trees around him, swiftly dashed off to go and look for Kiara. But he wasn't at all certain how he was going to tell her about this, if at all.


	2. Strange Occurrences

Kiara stepped through a puddle on the ground that she didn't see due to the long grass. She didn't mind though as there were more pressing things on her mind. Her, Tiifu and Zuri had failed to catch a gazelle and Kiara had promised Simba that she would bring back a kill for dinner tonight. Things weren't going to plan for her and she hadn't seen Kovu all day either. She sighed as she carried on after getting her paws wet and heard her friends behind her complain about the moist ground.

"What are you going to tell Simba?" Tiifu asked.

"I don't know. He won't be angry but he'll have expected me to be able to catch something by now. He might be disappointed." Kiara replied.

"Just hope for the best." Zuri said.

"Yeah." Kiara remarked.

As the three lionesses continued on their way back to Pride rock, the sun was starting to set, earlier than it ever had done before. The light stretched out across the landscape as it slowly, very slowly descended. It probably wouldn't fully set for another hour yet. And they also saw a shape heading towards them, golden yellow from the setting orb of light in the sky. As it got closer and closer to them Kiara recognised its face. Dark green eyes and brown fur with a black mane. Kovu!

"Kovu! Over here!" Kiara called.

Kovu came over and stopped by his mate and her friends. He was breathing heavily from the run and Kiara noticed a look of what could only be described as horror across his face.

"Kovu, what's wrong? You look... Frightened." She asked.

"Do I? It's probably just the light. I didn't think the sun was supposed to set this early." The dark lion replied.

"It usually doesn't. Anyway, what are you doing out here?"

"I was looking for you actually. I haven't seen you all day and I was getting bored wandering around Pride rock on my own."

Kiara sighed and glanced down momentarily before looking back up to her mate.

"Well, things aren't much jollier out here I'm afraid. Tiifu, Zuri and I failed to catch a gazelle earlier and I promised my dad I would bring something back for dinner."

Kovu looked over Kiara's shoulder at Tiifu and Zuri stood behind her. He then returned his look back to Kiara.

"I can help you with that if you want." He suggested.

"No, really Kovu, there isn't any time to find another herd and catch one in time. Simba will understand when I explain to him what happened anyway."

"Nonsense. You promised your parents you'd bring them a prey animal tonight and that's exactly what they're gonna get."

Kiara thought for a moment. Kovu was certainly a good hunter and she knew that if he said he could catch something for them by tonight then he meant it. She decided to let him go ahead with it.

"Alright. Surprise me. Get us a big juicy animal before the sun sets."

"Challenge accepted." Kovu said in a slightly cocky tone of voice.

The four lions then left to find a fresh herd of prey creatures for Kovu to take his pick from.

As they ventured Kovu was toying with the idea as to whether he should tell Kiara about what happened amongst the trees earlier. On one hand he wanted to because then he might be able to get help, but on the the other hand he didn't want to worry her.

He would have to make a decision on the matter later on because right now the small group was approaching a small herd of antelope by some rocks. Kiara was stood right beside Kovu and she gave him a nudge and whispered to him.

"Psst. You see those antelope there?"

Kovu took a look at where Kiara meant. There were only about twelve of them at the most, probably less actually.

"Yeah, I see them." Kovu whispered back.

"Antelope are Simba's favourite, you know. If I took one of them back he'd be really impressed."

"Is that so? Well, stay down and let me do the dirty work."

Kiara took a couple of steps back and got as low down as she could go along with Tiifu and Zuri behind the rocks. Kovu made sure the three lionesses were well hidden before he began to creep up on the unsuspecting herd. The dark lion managed to move silently round the side under the cover of the grass and rocks until he was mere inches away from one of the younger animals. They were totally unaware of the predator currently eyeing them up, getting ready to make the kill.

It looked as though it would be an easy kill. Kovu readied himself to pounce and, when the right moment came, he struck. His body landed on the young antelope, preventing it from getting away. He quickly finished off the creature as the others ran for safety. The job was done.

"Got it!" Kovu called out to the girls.

Kiara and her friends emerged from behind their cover and joined Kovu by the dead animal. Despite being only young it was quite a sizeable beast, easily enough to feed the pride for one night. Kiara looked at it, pleased with her mate for catching it for her.

"Good job. Thank you, Kovu." She said.

"It was nothing." The brown lion replied.

"Do you want a hand getting it back to Pride rock?" Tiifu asked.

"Sure. You and Zuri take the rear end and Kovu and I will carry it at the front." Kiara instructed.

"Why do we get the rear end?" Zuri protested.

"Because it's the lightest end." Kiara answered before bending down to pick up the antelope corpse and put it on her back. Tiifu and Zuri did the same at the creatures' rear end. Kovu was reluctant to help Kiara at the front however.

"Kovu, what's wrong?" His mate asked.

"Nothing." He said, rather unconvincingly though. "Actually, Can you three handle this for now. I wanted to go and see that monkey guy."

"Rafiki? What do you want to see him for?"

"I'll tell you later, OK?"

"Well... Alright. But don't leave it too late before you get back will you? We don't want a repeat of last night."

"Course not."

There was nothing more to say so the three lionesses carried their dinner off back to Pride rock. Kovu on the other hand headed off towards the huge tree that was located in the opposite direction. Perhaps Rafiki could give him some idea as to what it was that happened earlier.


	3. No Lion Around!

Kiara was out in front carrying the front end of the antelope while Tiifu and Zuri hauled the back end after her as the three of them approached the base of Pride rock. The journey back with the carcass had been about twenty minutes and now the sun was really starting to set.

"Where are we putting this?" Zuri asked, sounding like she had had enough of carrying the thing.

"We'll just drop it down near the cave." Kiara replied.

They then began the tricky job of transporting the antelope up to where the cave entrance was. Something that would take a fair amount of effort but was entirely doable, especially as they had three of them working on it at once.

Once at the top the girls dumped the body down by the cave mouth and there was Simba, sitting sternly in the entrance to their home. Kiara was the first to approach him and as she did she saw that his face wasn't one of anger or disappointment which was a huge relief for her.

"I said I'd catch something big, didn't I?" Kiara said.

Simba looked over at the caught creature. It was one of the finest catches he'd ever seen, that was sure. He looked back to his daughter and smiled.

"I'm proud of you, Kiara. Good job. Your mother will be very pleased as well." He congratulated.

"Thanks, daddy." Kiara replied, smiling back.

Simba went from smiling at his daughter to glancing around the ledge. There was Tiifu, Zuri, but where was Kovu? Surely he had caught up with Kiara at some point today. So why wasn't he back with her now?

"Kiara, where's Kovu? He did find you today, didn't he?" The concerned king asked.

"Kovu? He went to see Rafiki before we came back here. He shouldn't be much longer though."

"Why did he go to see Rafiki?"

"I don't know. He said he would tell me later. Must be something kind of personal I guess."

Simba started to frown.

"Well, it has been hard for him settling into his new way of life here. If I was feeling worried about something like that I would go and see Rafiki too. As long as he gets back soon it's fine."

Simba turned to enter the cave. Kiara, however, could sense that something wasn't quite right with her father.

"Tiifu. Zuri. Could you go inside? I want to talk to Dad alone." Kiara requested of her friends.

"Sure." They responded.

The two light furred lionesses padded their way past Simba into the cave as Kiara walked in front of the king, standing between him and the cave.

"Daddy." She began. "What's bothering you?"

The cool night time winds blew through Kovu's thick, black mane as he stood outside Rafiki's tall tree. He'd never actually been here before. Neither had he really interacted with Rafiki before. In fact the only time he had ever seen the monkey was when he showed Kiara and him the power of Upendi and at their wedding ceremony. But the little he had seen of him lead Kovu to regard him as a total crackpot, but also someone who knew how to do things when necessary.

Now though, the time had come for him to pay a visit. He was hoping the crazy mandrill would offer some insight as to what it was that Kovu experienced back in the trees.

"Well, here goes nothing."

Kovu called up to try and get Rafiki's attention.

"Hello! Is anyone home?"

For some time there was no response, none at all. Kovu was considering turning and going back home if the shaman didn't turn up soon. And just as he was about to do that Rafiki appeared at the bottom of the tree and slid open the entrance, moving a large sheet of bark from across the entrance way.

"Yes? Wat is all de holler about?" He demanded, clearly he'd been asleep just moments ago.

"Hey, Rafiki, isn't it? You're kind of, like, the wise old advisor kind of guy here, aren't you?"

"Dat is one way of putting it."

"Well, I need your help with something."

"Kovu?" Kiara said confusedly. "Why would you be worried about Kovu?"

"It's just that..." Simba began, but stuttered and paused. "Sorry. It's just my old fears coming back again. He was raised by Scar and you know how that makes me feel."

"But Kovu isn't like Scar. He's good. He's one of us." Kiara argued.

"I know." Simba sighed. "But, the problem is that for the few days he's been here I keep... Messing up when speaking to him. We always end up falling out for some reason and we didn't on the first day. It's like I can't get Scar's resemblance out of my head and he can't fit in properly with the pride."

Kiara looked her father in the eyes and spoke confidently.

"I think you have a kind of... Irrational fear of him in a way. Because of his connections with Scar."

"I guess so."

"But there's really no need for it. All the time I've spent with Kovu means I know him the best out of all of us. And trust me when I say he's different to Scar."

Simba sighed yet again, turning his head slightly to the left.

"I know. I'm trying to see him that way, believe me I am, but it's hard, you know?"

"Alright, here's an idea. If you two can go one conversation without referencing Scar or offending one another then you should be well on your way to getting along permanently. Sound like a plan?"

Simba thought for a moment. That might work, but the trouble would be actually having a conversation and not messing it up somehow.

Finally, Simba answered.

"Okay. I'll try it. But I can't' say for certain that'll work."

Kiara's face lit up with happiness. She smiled and nuzzled her father.

"Great!"

The two lions took an extra moment to embrace each other before heading into their den for the night. Little did they notice the pair of beady bluish-purple eyes watching them from the darkness just round the corner.

Vitani thought back to what Kiara said.

'All the time I've spent with Kovu means I know him the best out of all of us.'

"Huh. Is that so?"

"You say you saw Scar instead of your own reflection?" Rafiki asked.

He and Kovu were inside the tree. It was actually quite sizeable on the inside, more so than what you'd think from the outside, and this was just in the trunk. They were down here because there was no way Kovu was going to be able to get up to the branches where Rafiki usually sat.

"Yeah." Kovu replied, confirming what Rafiki wanted to know. "I looked down and it was as though he was right in front of me. Every feature exactly the same as I remember it. Still full of hate and evil."

Rafiki's hand moved under his chin with his thumb and finger spread across it as he contemplated something.

"Hmm... Dis is very unusual. Noting like dis has ever happened before."

"So you have no idea what it was?"

"You know what? It was probably just a bad memory creeping in. Dey can do dat when you least expect it, ya know."

"You think so? I hope you're right."

"All you need is a good night's rest and come tomorrow you will be right as rain again."

"Alright. Thanks."

And with that Kovu got up and departed. Rafiki wasted no time in climbing back up to the top of the tree as the dark lion padded his way out the exit.

If the solution was as simple as a good night's sleep then Kovu wouldn't be having this... experience in the first place. There had to be something more to it. There just had to be. But finding out what it was would have to wait until the morning.

00000000000000000

Not much happened the next day. It was quite a sleepy day. The lionesses did their usual patrols and other jobs around the kingdom and that left nothing in particular for Simba, Nala and the other higher ups to do. Before they knew it was nearly sunset again, the golden light passing over the land once more. The day had gone so quickly despite barely anything happening over the course of it.

Simba was waiting outside the cave while the rest of the pride was settling down far inside. It was only him and Kovu that were still out right now. Simba had suggested to Kovu that he take some time to get to know the animals in the Pridelands a bit better. So all day now Kovu had been going around chatting with members of the antelope herds and the gazelles and what not. And it shouldn't have been long before he returned after that rather busy day. When his son-in-law did get back, Simba was going to make an attempt to talk to him without bringing up or even mentioning Scar or the Outlands or anything like that. And he was determined not to lose his temper if Kovu mentioned anything about Mufasa or something that Simba found to be a sensitive subject.

"Simba, are you coming in?" Nala called from inside the cave.

Simba turned his head and saw his mate smiling at him by a freshly lit fire in the centre of the cave, with Kiara nearby, sat next to Vitani closer to the mouth of the den. He smiled back and replied.

"Yeah. Just a minute. I'll be in when Kovu gets back."

"Oh." Nala responded, puzzled. Why was Simba waiting for Kovu?

"It's alright, mum. He wants to try and talk to Kovu without the two of them irritating one another." Kiara told Nala. "Just a little idea I had last night."

"Oh, Okay. Well I hope it does something for them both. I don't know why they can't get along these last few days. They were just fine when the prides joined together and a couple days after."

Kion came and sat by his mother, taking in the heat from the fire. It was a luxury on a cold night such as this.

"Now this is cold even for the winter." He stated.

"It's not that bad." Vitani replied.

"I suppose not." Kion turned to his sister, Kiara. "By the way, that catch you got yesterday."

"Before you go on to me about the circle of life, yes it did look injured. Still put up quite a fight though." Kiara said.

"Okay. Sorry, you know how I am with things like that. Old habits really."

"Not to worry."

Simba wasn't able to hear his pride's conversation in the background through the wind and his own thoughts. His train of thought was interrupted however, by the sight of a dark figure strolling towards Pride rock. It was Kovu, at last.

Kovu strained his eyes to see where he was stepping in the darkness. He could see Pride rock just up ahead, with an orange glow coming from the den. There must have been a fire going. He could also see Simba stood atop the ledge, looking out over the land, his silhouette bold against the glow of the fire within. No doubt he'd have spotted him by now. Simba had very good eyesight for a lion his age.

Was Simba waiting for him? It might have been worth mentioning to the golden lion about Kovu's experience yesterday. Then again, it might just make him even more suspicious of him. What with the 'incident' being about Scar and all that.

Kovu still couldn't believe that the reflection had spoken to him either. And so he didn't actually mention that part when he spoke with Rafiki. Perhaps he should've done? Even if he wasn't entirely certain it was reality or just his mind playing tricks on him, he probably should have included that part.

As Kovu thought on he found his front paw bumping into the rocky base of Pride rock. He snapped out of his daze and began to climb up to the place he'd been calling home for the past week or so. When he got to the top of the uneven steps he was greeted by Simba looking at him. Waiting perhaps?

"There you are." The king said.

Kovu approached him, seeing some wrinkles that were coming through in the light from the fire.

Simba continued: "Kiara and I were wondering when you were going to be back. It's getting cold and you should really be getting inside."

"Sorry. Still getting to know the place." Kovu replied. And it was true. Kovu still didn't know the full layout of the Pridelands, though it wouldn't be long before he did. He'd almost memorized where everything was, despite there being a few hazy spots still.

"That's alright. It took me a while to learn my way around too."

Kovu came to a stop just a few feet away from Simba and sat down, failing to notice Kiara and Vitani inside the cave as they moved closer to the mouth of the cave, trying to get a better hearing of the conversation no doubt.

"So, what are you still doing out here?" Kovu asked. "Shouldn't you be inside with the rest of the pride?"

"I know. But I was waiting for you to return. You see, we've been getting off on the wrong paw these last few days and I thought I'd try and fix that." Simba explained as he moved his gaze out into the darkness that hung over his kingdom.

Kovu could see the moon, that had just come out, glinting in the king's eyes.

"You know, for many nights now I've spent a little bit of my time to look up into the night sky and think."

"Think?" Said Kovu as he came to sit right beside Simba. "Think about what"

Simba sighed.

"Oh, mainly my mother and father. Especially my father."

"Mufasa? I know what Scar did, you know. I'm sorry."

"Oh, it's Okay, in some ways. For years I thought it was my fault he died. That was until I got a, shall we say... Otherworldly visit. I saw a vision of him in the clouds one night, a ghost I suppose, and he convinced me that I had to come back and reclaim the throne from Scar."

"You saw the ghost of your father?" Kovu exclaimed. Was that basically what had happened to him yesterday?

"Well, I never found out exactly what it was. But I like to tell myself that." Simba said with a warm grin.

"Oh. That's funny." Kovu said, keeping his main focus on the night sky. "Because... I had a similar experience... Yesterday when I was by some trees."

Simba looked straight at his son-in-law and raised an eyebrow. He was interested to hear about this, something he never expected to hear from Kovu.

"Really? What kind of... Experience?" He probed with curiosity.

"Well... I'm not sure if I should really say. Um... Well, here it goes. I was going through a small wood on my way to find Kiara and I found myself staring into a puddle, thinking about things you know. And all of a sudden the reflection... Changed. It morphed right before my eyes into..." Kovu took a deep breath, hoping Simba wouldn't flip out at what he had to say next.

"It turned into... Scar."

Simba seemed to become surprised at this. Not shocked or horrified as such but he certainly wasn't enjoying the news.

"It even..." Kovu continued when Simba didn't say anything in response. "It even spoke to me and taunted me. It was horrible."

Kovu could see on Simba's face what he was thinking, the most obvious thought he would have after hearing this. Although he didn't look like Kovu thought he would look.

Simba knew what his subconscious was telling him. It was putting the connection between Scar and Kovu right in his face. Screaming to him. But he was determined to not make a fuss about it. If he did he was almost certain it would end in upset for at least one of them.

He took a moment to pause his thought and then decided to say something reassuring to the younger lion. And something believable.

"You know what I think? I think you just imagined it. You've been under a considerable amount of stress lately and that can have side effects such as that."

"But you said you saw your father? And you said-"

"Yes I said that. But I did say that I never found out for sure what it was. I'm sure it's nothing to worry about."

Kovu didn't look too sure about that. He looked out across the landscape coated in black and then back to the king.

"I guess it could have just been my imagination. That does seem logical given the circumstances."

"It'll pass after a couple nights good sleep. You'll see." Simba smiled.

He must have succeeded because Kovu smiled back, completely convinced with his comforting words.

"Thanks. I hope you're right."

"Good. Now that's sorted we can both get to sleep." Simba stated as he began to head toward the cave.

He stopped and looked back when he didn't sense Kovu's presence beside him though. And the young lion was in fact still sat where he had been previously.

"What's wrong?" Asked Simba.

Kovu sighed and replied. "I think I should... Perhaps sleep outside for tonight. Just in case, you know?"

"I don't think you need to do that."

"Well, it would make me feel better. Even if nothing can happen I would still feel sounder if I did, just to be cautious."

"Okay. If you think it would be a good idea. I won't stop you from doing so. I'll tell Kiara. Well, goodnight, Kovu."

"Goodnight. I'll be down there." Kovu said as he peered over the ledge and down to the ground below Pride rock.

And with that the two males parted ways. Simba rejoined his pride in the den, being greeted by Kiara and Vitani at the opening of the cave. Kovu, on the other hand, climbed on down to ground level and began to find the most comfortable spot he could get hold of.

Perhaps it had just been the result of recent stress on his mind. But the issue was that Kovu couldn't escape the feeling that something very bad was going to come his, no rather, their way sooner rather than later.

* * *

 **ONE YEAR LATER...**

Simba finished drinking from the small pond that he often visited, letting the last few drops of water drip from his chin fur. He wasn't very far from Pride rock, only about five minutes away. The pond was a very convenient place for him and others in the pride, being so close to the cave. If anyone wanted a quick drink in the night this was the place to get it. Once Simba had woken up in the middle of the night after experiencing possibly one of the worst nightmares he'd ever had. After seeing that he somehow hadn't woken up the rest of the pride he'd decided to come down to this pond in the morning and have a refreshing drink to help calm himself down.

No such thing has ever happened since then and the only reason he seemed to come here nowadays was simply to get a drink in peace. The main watering hole could be a very crowded place in the mornings.

As Simba was about to start heading back to Pride rock to begin his late morning duties he saw the figure of a very familiar lioness come towards him. Nala was going at no more than a strolling speed with a smile on her face. Simba smiled back as his mate reached him and perched herself down in a comfortable position.

"Simba." Nala addressed the king. "I was wondering where you'd gotten to."

"I'm not late am I?" Simba asked.

"No. But you know what I'm like. I'll worry about anything. Especially you."

"Oh, you don't have to do that."

Nala let out a little chuckle and looked to the side for a moment before turning back to Simba.

"Sorry I missed Kiara this morning. Did you make sure she promised to be careful?" He asked.

"Of course I did. She has to be extra careful now anyway and she knows it."

That was true. A lot can happen in a year and for Kiara and Kovu something massive was happening. Who knew that their heir would arrive so quickly? Although there was still some time to go yet before he or she actually arrived, albeit not much time left.

"I still wish she hadn't insisted on trying to hunt in her condition. Not when she's this close." Simba voiced his concern.

He'd always been very protective of his daughter. Perhaps too protective in the past. But in his defence, Simba thought, she was attempting to go hunting at a time when most of the herds were very active, which was in itself a dangerous time, especially the wildebeest herds. They were always among the most unpredictable of animals.

Then again, perhaps Simba was worrying too much. Kiara certainly knew how to handle herself. That he had seen first-hand before. But he still felt like it would benefit him and her if he maybe just watched from a safe distance. Maybe he would go and find a good look out point so he could easily see his daughter and her activities but so that he wouldn't be spotted by her and just observe her actions.

"Well, you can't stop adventurous youngsters can you. And she said she would only try and catch one of the easier, small animals. She'll be alright I think."

"Yeah, you're probably right."

Even though he said that Simba still intended to go and watch Kiara as soon as he could. 'Better safe than sorry' he thought.

"Anyway, I'm gonna head back now. There are things I need to get on with." Nala said. "I'll see you later. We can have some alone time tonight if you like."

Simba smiled again and replied.

"I'd like that very much. Catch ya later, Nala."

Nala then turned and trotted away, glancing back and giving Simba the 'look' that she often did when no one was looking. The look that warmed the golden lion's heart every time he saw it.

But he would have to put it out of his mind for the time being as he was now going to go and find his daughter. She was probably fine but he had to know for sure.

"I've got you now." Kiara whispered as she eyed up a rabbit from the cover of a large bush.

She knew she shouldn't really be out hunting but she found sitting around the den all day got very boring very fast. And besides, she was only going after one small rabbit. What could possibly happen to her?

Actually, come to think of it, she was right by the gorge. The dusty one that some herds sometimes used to get across the Pridelands quicker. But she knew better than to go any closer to it than she already was.

The rabbit lifted its little grey head up from the grass it was chewing on. It hadn't sensed its watcher yet, meaning Kiara still had the advantage. Then it hopped away from her rather suddenly, forcing the lionesses to take quick action. She pounced at it but it just about slipped away. Kiara tried to turn after it the best she could but it turned out running and pregnancy really didn't go well together. So instead she was stuck going at a strolling pace while her target got further and further away. Eventually the two creatures reached the edge of the gorge where, to Kiara's annoyance, the rabbit jumped down into the pit. It landed on a low down ledge, much too small for Kiara to get onto, and made its way down ledge by ledge.

"Dammit!" Kiara swore.

She scanned the wall of the gorge for a moment before catching sight of a slope that went from the top all the way down to the bottom. It looked stable enough and, as long as she was careful, she'd be able to get to the bottom in no time.

As she took her first few steps down the slope she saw that the small, fluffy animal she'd been chasing had managed to get itself caught up in some brambles at the bottom of the gorge. This was her chance! Kiara picked up the pace, but still remained very cautious. After all, she was caring for two lives right now.

As she continued to descend Kiara thought she heard the sound of a dozen or so wildebeests up above. But since that was normal for this time of year she just dismissed it and carried on. In fact her determination caused her to block out almost all outside noise and distractions. Including the loud echo of many running footsteps above.

Kovu sat down on the tip of a tall rock for a rest after he'd been wandering around aimlessly for the past hour or so. It was just one of those days where not much really happened, at all. But today was a bit different from those other lifeless days. Today Kovu had a very pressing worry on his mind. Kiara. He really didn't approve of her going out in the morning but she had insisted so much that he gave in in the end. If he could choose a word to describe his mate it was stubborn.

Just once I'd like it if you listened to me.

As the dark lion lay his head down, going over all the possible negative things that could occur during his partner's outing, he found himself overlooking the valley where the Pridelands' biggest gorge was located. And yet still nothing happened. Nothing at all. But then he spotted a very familiar looking figure on the horizon. A lioness with cream fur that seemed to be half-heartedly dashing over to the edge of the gorge.

"Huh?" He suddenly realised who it was as he lifted his head off the warm rock. "Kiara?"

He stood up right away and tried to get a closer look. It was in fact Kiara. And she was right at the edge of the gorge. What the hell was she doing there?

Kovu sat up quickly as the realisation rushed through him. He began to get hot, and it wasn't from the blazing sun overhead.

Then, all of a sudden, Kiara disappeared from Kovu's view, sinking below the surface and down into the gorge. But she hadn't slipped. She had gone down voluntarily.

What was she doing!?

"Kiara!" Kovu called.

Before he could jump down from the rock and head after her, the dark lion heard the voice of Simba behind him.

"Kovu."

Kovu turned to see the king perched up on the rocks above him. Looking down on him as ever. Then again, he was the king, it was what he did well. He was showing a kind of half-smile.

"Have you seen Kiara?" He continued.

Kovu wasted no time in explaining to Simba where his daughter had just gone.

"Yeah. Simba, she went into the gorge just now. I don't know why?"

"What?" Simba said as his face turned to a strange mixture of anger and worry. Although Kovu wasn't sure what the anger part was for. "We have to get her out. Come on!"

And with that Simba was off, leaping off the higher up rocks and over Kovu's head, landing rather clumsily in his rush. Kovu hopped down from his lower down rock and made his best attempt to follow the golden coated leader, but it was a tough job when he was going at such a swift pace.

Kovu didn't think it was a good idea that Simba was now so worked up about this. He could have just got Kiara out on his own and Simba need never hear of it. But on the other paw, he might not have been able to lift Kiara on his own and so needed Simba's strength.

Better Kiara was safe and Simba being a bit worried for a couple days than something much worse happening though.

The edge of the pit was in sight now. But how were they going to get Kiara out? Whatever they were going to do, they had better get it done quick, as just on the other side the two lions saw a herd of wildebeest. A herd of wildebeest that was being chased frighteningly towards the gorge by a pack of canines. And it was at the worst possible time.

"I've got you now." Kiara muttered as she came very close to the rabbit caught in its prickly prison.

She was only a few metres above it on one last ledge, and no more than a few feet away from it horizontally.

She was about to carefully slide down to ground level to catch her prize but before she could a small stone fell in front of her. Kiara looked up and saw a few more stones of similar size were flying over the edge at the top of the gorge. As she kept her gaze upwards she wasn't looking at where her paws were going. She made a wrong step and slipped forward, landing on the bottom of the chasm on her front paw. Pain shot up through her left front leg and the lioness was left slumped on the ground, watching as her would-be catch managed to wriggle free and hop off to live another day.

Kiara, however, was no longer concerned with that. She was much more concerned about her paw and possibly more importantly, her unborn cub. Thankfully she had landed in such a way that her front took most of the brunt and not her mid torso. But there was by no means a cause for relief as the amount of stones falling had increased dramatically in the last few seconds and as she looked up, Kiara saw the beginnings of a whole herd of animals as they sprinted almost full speed down the side of the gorge. And she was right in their path. Helpless and unable to move out of the way.

"Quickly!" Simba shouted back, like he expected Kovu to be slowing down or some reason. Why would he?

The two males were still going as fast as they were when they started and showed zero signs of stopping. They couldn't if they were going to reach Kiara in time.

"Yep!" Was all Kovu replied with.

Mere moments later they came to what was almost a skidding halt at the side of the gorge. They both had a half decent view of the deep abyss below. And then one of them, Kovu, spotted their objective and pointed in panicky excitement.

"She's down there! Look!"

Simba tracked Kovu's paw and saw where his daughter was. She was on the ground at the bottom of the gorge, injured by the looks of it, right in the path of a stampeding herd of wildebeest.

Simba then all of a sudden began remembering. The horrors of that day. How Scar had- No! There wasn't time for that now! Kiara needed rescuing!

Without giving Kovu much of a chance to suggest anything Simba announced, "I'm going down there. Be ready to help us up."

Kovu responded with a quick "Gotcha.", and watched in anticipation as Simba carefully but quickly started to descend on a series of narrow ledges.

The younger lion desperately moved his eyes around between the herd advancing and the two lions at the bottom of the pit. It wasn't until Simba made it to Kiara that the first of the animals reached the ground. They had to get out of there quick.

"Simba! Hurry!" Kovu called out.

Simba and Kiara both looked up at him and then a split second later at the wall of grey flesh charging at them. Simba then helped Kiara up onto his back. So she was hurt!

The two of them limped over to the side of the canyon but there was nowhere near enough of a gap at the edge for them to slip by safely.

Luckily there was another set of ledges where they had backed up to and Kovu was near to where the path ended at the top. He rushed there and Simba began to help his daughter up and onto the first ledge. But she would have to move even faster if the two of them were to make it out alive. But until then Kovu was ready and waiting to help pull up both his mate and father-in-law from the deadly chaos below.

Simba clambered up onto the first ledge as he followed Kiara's path. She had managed to move up by a couple more places since just now and seemed to be able to get by fine on her own.

"Are you Okay?" Simba asked.

"Yeah. But I'm gonna be exhausted after this." Kiara replied.

"Better that than dead. Keep moving."

So the two of them carried on as quick as Kiara's condition and injury would allow. One after the other the two lions clambered up to the next ledge and then the next, and then the next again. Funny how the gorge looked a lot less deep from above than from below, making it even more daunting than before.

Back at the top of the gorge Kovu was keeping a close eye out for the oncoming menagerie of death. Then, as the herd was getting ever nearer, he saw out of the corner of his eye that Kiara had just climbed over the edge and was now halfway onto solid ground again. He immediately rushed over to help her up the last few feet. He hauled her over and pulled her away from the edge as quick as he could. Of course, because of Kiara's extra load at the moment, she was twice as heavy as usual. But Kovu managed it and after a quick nuzzle with his mate he returned to the side to help Simba, who was now almost at the top himself.

Simba called out just as he saw Kovu come into view over the straight line that was the edge. "Kovu! Help me!"

Kovu was sure that it would require much more strength to lift up Simba than it did Kiara, but he was the only one there to do it. He reached down over.

As his son-in-law bent over the edge of the rocky tip to reach for him, Simba suddenly got a realisation that he recognised this situation. He remembered it from just over a year ago. And it was horrible. It was his nightmare all over again! The one where Scar turns to Kovu and throws him into the abyss below just like the scarred tyrant did to his father all those years ago.

It was just like that!

"Simba!" Kovu yelled as he caught hold of Simba's front paws that were now firmly dug into the side of the gorge wall.

He felt his grip on them start to slip from both the weight and sweat of the excitement from the chaos. He was going to lose Simba completely if he didn't do something quick! Kiara couldn't help and there was no one else around. There was only one thing for it!

"Sorry about this!" Kovu shouted.

Simba's eyes widened in horror as only a split second later Kovu spread out his claws and dug them into Simba's paws. This gave him a much better grip on the dangling body of the king and so he was able to start bringing him up to safety.

By now the herd of wildebeest had passed underneath and Kovu was able to haul Simba over the pit. The two of them stepped back to where Kiara was waiting for them with great anticipation and now relief.

Kovu stood by her as Simba recovered his composure after the manic rush that he'd just endured. His legs were feeling weak but also had some feeling returning to them. But he was now stood staring at the couple in front of him. Specifically Kovu, who now more than ever reminded him of his long dead uncle. Scar.

"Thanks." Managed Simba, forcing himself to speak.

* * *

What a day it had been. Kiara had almost been killed by a stampede of wildebeest in the gorge and Simba came quite close to getting caught up in it too. And because of this Kovu was very concerned as well for both his mate and the king. And he couldn't help but notice the look on Simba's face when he and Kiara finally managed to escape from the depths of that deadly dust bowl. It was a look of... Well, he didn't know what to call it really. Displease? Shock? Anger? Something negative for sure but what?

Thankfully Simba hadn't brought it up at all on their way back and now the three of them were currently in Rafiki's (rather larger than it looks on the inside) tree. The Mandrill was tending to Kiara, checking her over. She was among the pride's highest priorities right now because of her condition. But the trouble was that there was no telling what harm today's threat might have brought upon Kiara and her cub (or cubs. They still weren't certain as to the amount yet).

Simba was with Kovu off to the side while Kiara lay on her back for Rafiki to examine her. They'd been there for at least ten minutes now and the monkey still showed no signs of stopping any time soon. But it was better him taking a long time and being sure everything was Okay than him rushing his way through and missing something potentially vital.

"I hope she's Okay." Simba muttered, not taking his eyes off the procedure at hand.

"Same." Kovu muttered in response.

Rafiki pressed the side of his head to Kiara's rather bloated stomach and listened. He was still unsure whether or not it was two cubs he could hear or not. It was always one of the trickiest things to determine about pregnancy.

"I guess I should be thankful that nothing's broken." Kiara said.

"Not broken. But you sprained your paw." Simba reminded her. "And that means you'll have to remain around Pride rock for the next few weeks."

"Huh. That'll be fun." Kiara said sarcastically.

"Don't worry. I'll stick around with you." Kovu helped with a smile.

"Only if you make it fun for me." Kiara joked. She cracked a small smile.

Rafiki finished his audio examination and lifted his head. He still had the same expression on his face that he'd been showing for pretty much the whole day, indicating that there was no bad news beside what they already knew. But even that was only a few minor injuries that would easily heal over time.

"Good news. She is fine." He reported in his goofy accent. "Der is no damage to de cub as far as I can tell and she only has a twisted paw that will heal in about three weeks. As long as she rests it will be fine."

Simba and Kovu both sighed in unison to signal their relief. Of course Kiara was relieved too, just not showing it as plainly as her two male relatives.

"Thank god for that." She praised.

She tried to stand up but had difficulty. She stumbled on her hurt paw and Kovu went to prop her up by letting her rest on his shoulders. Simba came up to them and licked his daughter in affection.

"Maybe it wasn't such a good idea after all for you to go out and hunt." The red maned lion said, raising an eyebrow as if to suggest something. "Can't say we didn't warn you."

Kiara sighed. "I know. It really wasn't a good idea. I don't know why I wanted to do it in the first place to be honest. I should've listened to you all."

"The important thing is you're still here and breathing." Kovu said.

Simba then continued. "But I think this should be a lesson to you, Kiara. I know you've always been the adventurous type but you really must listen to people when they're trying to help you."

"I'm sorry daddy. I promise I'll listen in future. Now can we please get back to Pride rock? I think I need a good long sleep after today.

Simba smiled. "Of course."

"Come on, Kiara. I'll help you back." Kovu said as he helped Kiara to sloppily make her way out of the tree. Simba stayed behind for a moment just to clear something up with Rafiki.

"So, three weeks of rest for her. At least she's fine. Huh, both of them."

"Yes. But you must make sure she does get dat rest. No exceptions I'm afraid." The Mandrill replied.

"And when do you think her cub will arrive? It can't be much longer now."

"I predict it will be here in just over three weeks."

"Huh, how convenient." Simba chuckled. "Well thanks for doing this on such short notice. I know it's what you're here for and everything but you know, I really don't think you're appreciated enough for what you do for us."

"It is not'ing, really. Now you had better be getting back to de den. What is a pride without a king, aye?"

"Okay. Bye Rafiki."

Simba finished saying his farewells and headed out to catch up with his daughter and her mate. Not like they'd gotten very far though, not with Kiara's paw. But as soon as they did get back it would almost certainly be straight to sleep for all three of them. A nice long slumber was what they really needed after the chaos of the day.

When the trio finally got back home they were greeted by the sight of Nala at the den entrance. She had Kion and Vitani beside her and all looked incredibly relieved to see them alive and well, save for Kiara's minor injury. Love was in all three pairs of eyes as they waited patiently for their loved ones to reach them.

Simba and Kovu had both started to help Kiara along now and as they came to a halt at their home they let her down. The princess hobbled over to her mother and nuzzled her thoroughly.

"I was so worried when I heard what had happened." Nala whispered.

"Mom, I'm alright." Kiara whispered back.

Vitani came up to Kovu and looked him in the eye, something she rarely ever did.

"Are you Okay?" She asked.

"Yeah. I'm fine." Kovu replied, brushing some dust out of his fur above his front right leg. "It was Simba and Kiara that got into the real trouble."

Kion had now joined his sister and mother in their exchange. He waited until the two had finished and then spoke to Kiara.

"Thank god you're alright. I was worried sick, you know." He said before giving her a nuzzle on the side of the head.

Simba went over to Nala, happy to be with her after the chaos of the day. She always seemed to make things ease away and brighten his mood.

"So what did Rafiki say?" The queen asked.

"He said it would be best if Kiara just rested for the next three weeks. That means staying at Pride rock."

By now Kiara had gone back to Kovu and was no longer in ear shot of her parent's quiet conversation. Realising this Nala said:

"Won't she be a bit bored here on her own for three weeks?"

"I shouldn't think so. Kovu said he'd stay around with her for most of it. I don't think we need to worry about her getting bored, not with him around."

"That's some good news I suppose. And did he say anything about her cub?"

"He wasn't entirely sure but he estimated it'll be here In just over three weeks. At least if she's gonna be here for that time the cub won't be put in any danger."

Kiara suddenly let out a rather large yawn that made Simba and Nala look over immediately.

"I think that signals it's time for you to get some sleep, don't you?" Nala suggested.

"Best idea I've heard all day." Said a now very tired Kiara. "You'll have to give me a paw still, Kovu."

"Sure." The dark lion replied as he lifted part of Kiara up onto his back for support and took her into the den.

Vitani and Kion followed suit leaving just Simba and Nala alone in the darkness outside Pride rock. Nala turned to her husband and gave him a quick lick on the cheek.

"You coming in? It's pretty cold out tonight."

"Of course. But... Just give me a minute alone with Kovu."

"Okay. Don't leave it too long though. You want to get some of the heat from the fire before we put it out."

Nala then disappeared into the cave and told Kovu that Simba wanted to talk. Moments later Simba's waiting stopped when his successor to the throne stepped out and sat by him. Simba got up and moved further away from the mouth of the cave and stopped and sat down again near the edge of the platform that stretched out from it. Kovu, feeling a little puzzled, followed him and did the same.

"That's better." Simba began. "Now they can't hear us."

"Why don't you want them to hear us?" Kovu asked, confused.

"Because I want to keep this between you and me for now."

"Oh, Okay." Kovu accepted Simba's request, eager to hear what he now had to say to him.

Simba took in a deep breath and swallowed. He was about to tell Kovu of something that he really had hoped he would never need to bring up again. A nightmare he once had about him... And Scar.

"Well... I should probably start off by saying that I really can't thank you enough for helping me out earlier. I never would've been able to get out of that gorge on my own."

"You're welcome. I wasn't exactly gonna stand by and let you die now was I?"

"Of course not. But that brings me to the real point I want to make here. You see, I had a nightmare once and it was about... Well... It was kind of a memory of how my father died at the hands of Scar. Only this time I was an adult trying to help him up myself. I nearly got him and then, you know who turned up behind me and grabbed my paw, causing me to lose my grip on my dad."

"What happened next?" Simba was surprised at just how much Kovu was getting into this story. It was a bit worrying actually, in a way.

"Well, I was at the mercy of that murderous tyrant, but all of a sudden, as the shadows cleared from around him, he became... You. And then he threw me off the cliff just like he did to my father."

"Me?"

Yeah."

Kovu's face changed expression. It was no longer one of curiosity, but one of actual horror in fact. He seemed to be horrified at the thought of Scar turning into him. Or perhaps the other way around...

"Is that-" Kovu gulped. "Is that all that happened?"

"That was it. I woke up in fright and the next morning I went for a drink. Thankfully I've managed to keep it hidden in my mind for a while. But when you helped me out of that gorge earlier today, it was like it all flooded back to me. I didn't want to say anything to worry you or anyone else around at the time, so I kept quiet about it until now."

Kovu was completely clueless about what to say or how to respond. Partly because it was such a troubling story in itself, but also because it could potentially make the incident among the trees that day something for him to really start worrying about.

But that couldn't have really happened... Could it?

Kovu did his best to give a positive sounding response.

"Well...It was only a nightmare wasn't it? Probably just a coincidence really. I wouldn't worry yourself about it."

"You think?"

"Yeah. Come in and get some sleep with the rest of us."

Without saying another word the males entered the cave where their pride was waiting. They quickly settled down and eventually fell asleep, Simba and Nala side by side, mimicking Kiara and Kovu across from them. That day's danger had appeared to have passed now. But for Simba and Kovu the trouble was still lingering in their minds.

* * *

Today was the first day in about two weeks where there had been something important that needed doing in the Pridelands. Simba said he wanted Kion and Kovu to shift a pile of fallen rocks down in the south. They were blocking some passageways used by smaller animals in extreme weather conditions, not exactly a high priority as far as Kovu was concerned by Kion was very concerned about it all. Then again, he would be wouldn't he? Having been the leader of the lion guard and all.

Anyhow, the whole job had taken around three hours so now the two lions were heading back for a well deserved rest.

Kovu got the impression that Kion was still having difficulties with accepting him, which was a little worrying given that it had been just over a year since he joined the pride. But Kovu couldn't really blame him for that as the Outlanders (of which he was a part of at the time) had tried to use him to gain power over the Pridelands. But despite any doubts Kion still had for him, Kovu knew that he didn't mind him all that much. The pair of them got along well enough and that was the important thing.

At one point during their journey Kovu suddenly felt quite parched. Kion wouldn't mind if he just stayed behind and got a quick drink so he turned to his mate's sister.

"Kion, I'm going to go and get a drink from the water hole. It's not very far." He stated.

"Okay. I'll head on and catch up with you later then." Kion replied.

As Kovu began in the direction towards the water hole Kion parted with him and continued on back to pride rock. Kovu reached the place in only a couple of minutes. He could see just below him in the valley, with a lone male lion resting beside the blue pool. It wasn't a lion he recognised, but he never really took the time to get to know everyone in the pride.

It didn't matter and since the dark maned lion was now very thirsty he didn't care who it was. Kovu began walking down to the water hole, but all of a sudden he felt this strange, overwhelming... Evil force come over him.

He then blacked out.

"I think you should go and check up on them. See how they're doing."

Kiara was woken by the sound of her father's voice in the cave.

"I'm sure they're doing just fine. But I'll go and see how much progress they've made anyway." Came Nala's voice next, much softer than Simba's.

"Okay. See you later, Nala." Simba spoke again.

Kiara opened her eyes and lifted her head up just in time to see Nala disappear below pride rock's upper level. Simba watched her go for a bit before coming inside. It took him a few moments to notice his daughter was awake before sitting down beside her. Kiara sat up from her sleeping position and stretched out her legs, yawning loudly, and finally sitting still.

"Sorry, did I wake you?" Simba asked.

"Yeah. It's alright though. I can't sleep all day. Have to stretch my legs once in a while." Kiara replied, letting out another yawn, this time smaller.

"Nala has just gone to see how Kovu and Kion are doing shifting those rocks."

"I bet they're loving the chance to do something given the last couple weeks. How long have I been asleep for?"

"About four hours, sleeping beauty."

"Longer than I thought then." Kiara chuckled.

Simba gave a little smile. He rarely had time for these moments any more. Catching up with Kiara was something that stopped regularly a while back, even before she got with Kovu, however her marriage is what finally put an end to those friendly chat sessions between the two of them. She was busy spending time with her mate and that was good and it was what Simba wanted for her. He'd pretty much accepted by now that he couldn't always be watching over her.

Kiara was now coming quite close to the end of her pregnancy with only an estimated five days from Rafiki. Of course these things could never be accurately predicted but it was always nice to have a rough estimate in mind.

They'd started out by thinking it was an only cub but judging by Kiara's size now it was likely to be twins, or more. And Simba knew that she was worried and just masking it behind a brave face she'd learned to put on for many occasions. He tried to comfort her while he had this time alone with his daughter.

"Possibly twins then? You worried?" He began.

"Not really. It's part of the circle of life isn't it?"

"Yeah. But come on, you must be a bit anxious at least?"

Kiara hesitated for a bit, then smiled and answered.

"Alright, yes. I am kinda worried. I know there's some things that can go wrong and what not. But Rafiki's a professional when it comes to these things so I'm putting my trust in him."

"Glad to hear it. We've all had to go through frightening experiences. Remember that."

"Like you with your dad? I'll bet that ranks above them all for you."

"I don't like to think about that, but yeah, it does rank pretty high on the list of 'things I really hated'."

With that cleared up Kiara thought it best to change the subject. Problem was she couldn't think of much to say right now, like a writer with writer's block, whatever a 'writer' was that is. She'd already spoken to Simba about Nala's experience with her and Kion so there was nothing new to be learned in that regard. What to talk about?...

Ah ha! Let's try that.

"So do you think Kovu will be a good dad?" She asked.

Simba looked at her and grinned after a few moments.

"Sure he will. And to be honest, I think he'll need all the luck he can get. Kids aren't an easy thing to look after you know, and the possibility of twins makes it all the more challenging. I hope you realise that."

"Of course I do. It's alright though, if it's twins Kovu and I can have a rotor where he takes care of one of them while I have the other and then we can swap over." Kiara joked, although it wasn't a bad idea come to think of it.

"Well whatever works for the two of you, go for it. That's what Nala and I did for a bit after all."

Kiara let out a little chuckle before bellowing out a huge yawn. Funny how being pregnant can make a lioness so tired most of the time.

"Daddy, this is all very well and good but promise me that you and mum will be there for me when the time comes. I'm still quite scared, you know."

Simba cuddled up to his daughter and spoke softly.

"Of course, dear."

Vitani stepped on and cracked a stick for what seemed like the twentieth time in the last five minutes. It was sort of unavoidable given that she was in an area near the border that had been the victim of a moderately bad fire recently. She cursed and kicked the broken length of wood away. The only reason she was out here was because she volunteered to stand in for patrol of this section of the border, as it was usually the job of a lioness called Sayari who was off sick.

Simba and Nala had really appreciated how quickly Vitani had jumped at the task, but they didn't know the real reason she had done so. Pride rock tended to be very crowded and she needed a nice quiet place with no one else around in order to do some thinking. And this was the only thing she could think of at the time.

A year ago when the outlanders had been accepted into the pride there were naturally some doubts among both sides, some Pridelanders weren't sure about the outlanders and vice versa. Simba and Nala especially had been very wary of Vitani for a good few months, and they had every right to be given her nature. Being loyal to Zira one minute and then going over to the Pridelanders the next was bound to seem suspicious, and she'd been the first of her pride to make the switch after Kovu.

Thankfully though those suspicions had worn away over time and now other lions barely batted an eye at her when they passed her during the daily chaos of life. And that's what Vitani liked best, being a part of the background, being in the shadows. Even if she wasn't the evil henchman for her mother she used to be, it was just what she was used to after all those years.

But anyway, she had come out here in order to think, and think she would do. For the last year she had become increasingly worried, about Kovu, about her and about the bond between what used to be two opposing prides. She thought it wouldn't be a problem but there were a few things, such as Kovu telling her about a nightmare he had in which he didn't delve into much detail but mentioned that it involved Zira and Simba, that made her have doubts about the stability of their situation. She knew that there were still troubles flying around, ones that could only be ignored for so long before they sent the balance of the stage and its players off, causing them to ultimately come crashing down in the end.

 _'Since when did I become a metaphor nerd?'_

The one thing that really bugged her, well... Bugged being a massive understatement, more like worried her to the point of sleepless nights, was that now Zira and Nuka were dead and the rest of the former outlands pride had been told nothing by Zira of this, she was the only one left who knew about this. She, Vitani, was the soul lioness that knew of Scar and Zira's plan that not even Kovu, the one whom the plan depended upon, knew about. But ever since Kovu told her about his nightmare, it was a sign that 'it' had started and 'it' was getting stronger within him.

And now came her major dilemma. Would she tell the rest of the pride about it before it was too late? If she didn't then they could be in for a dreadful repeat of the tyrannous reign of Scar. But if she did then there might be a way to stop it. But if she told them, it would mean telling Kovu too. How could she tell Kovu that she'd kept a huge, life altering secret from him since as far back as they could both remember? He'd want to know why she never told him before, and he would almost certainly feel something along the lines of betrayal, given that she was the only blood relative remaining to him.

It was a very difficult choice indeed. Vitani decided that if things with Kovu took an even greater turn for the worst then she would have no choice but to confess what she knew.

Confess that her brother was a very special kind of 'chosen one'.

* * *

The two senior lionesses were enjoying their stroll in the sun. They were on their way back from a long visit to a relative they hadn't seen in years. They never planned on being away quite so long but they were back now, and that was the main part, being back in the Pridelands.

Sarabi lead Sarafina over the small hills that hugged the edge of the water hole plains. Getting a quick drink in was a first priority for them before anything else.

"I thought it would have changed a bit more than this." Sarafina exclaimed.

"I know. But I'm glad it still looks like good old home." Sarabi replied.

They continued on their way, over the hills until they had the water hole in sight. The lionesses expected their to be either a few animals grouped around it quenching their thirst or for it to be completely devoid of life. But instead what they saw was truly horrifying. The two of them were wide eyed at the sight.

A dark furred lion was stood over the bloodied remains of another lion, the latter being stained in blood but still recognisable as being of a golden fur type. Definitely dead. Sarafina gasped in horror as the dark lion shook his head and started looking around, as if he had no idea where he was or what had just happened.

"What's going on?" Sarabi gasped to nobody in particular.

"I don't know. But we should find out at once." Sarafina stated sternly.

"Right behind you." Replied Sarabi.

The two of them marched over together to put this lion in his place. Both were confident that Simba wouldn't let this go without a serious punishment of some sort.

As they got closer there were more features to pick up on about the lion's face as he turned to face them. But they were still not close enough to determine who it was, that was if they even knew him at all. Chance are that they didn't. The dark lion had blood around his mouth and claws so this was undoubtedly his work, and his eyes were green in colour and his expression was one of anger amongst other similar things.

In the short time it took the lionesses to get this close to him they had been trying to put a name to this creatures face, without much luck, that concentration got the better of them as they were too slow to react when he pounced, knocking one of them to the side and pinning the other.

Sarafina stared up at the maniac above her, unable to escape the heavy hold of him. Swiftly the lion raised his paw and shot it down with great speed.

Sarabi could only watch in horror while she tried to recover from being bashed around. It was all over now, but what had she just witnessed?

"No, Sarafina..." She whispered.

Sarafina was now lying in a heap beside the killer, who had since turned his attention to Sarabi, the evil glint in his eyes only getting brighter. He began to advance on her and it was then that she managed to put a name to this lion.

It was Kovu! The mate of Simba's daughter. Sarabi was now paralysed with fear. And, and...


	4. Chapter 4: The Fate of a Prince

Zazu was just completing his patrol, on his way back to Pride rock while passing by the water hole. He looked down to make sure everything was business as usual, expecting to see that it was, but instead he was presented with an image of horror. Three lions, one a male and two lionesses, were motionless on the ground, soaked in blood, with Kovu standing in the centre of them. Zazu gasped and flew even faster towards his intended destination.

"This must be reported immediately."

00000000000000000

Sarabi forced her eyes open. She'd taken a few nasty blows but was still alive somehow. She checked herself and found that she was bleeding on her left side but apart from that there didn't seem to be anything seriously wrong with her. She seemed to be fine, until she looked up and saw what was standing over her...

Kovu, looking so tall from her low angle, was towering in front of the view of the sun which was casting him in a dark silhouette. Almost none of his features could be made out because of the dark shadow over him. What was wrong with him?

Although she had rarely met him Sarabi knew the kind of lion Kovu was and this was totally out of character for him. Despite the fear she felt she managed to stand, now able to see his face a bit clearer. Some things were still hard to make out but the lioness could see enough to conclude that Kovu looked... Kind of confused. It was like a strange mixture of anger and confusion, like he knew he was doing something terrible but wasn't sure why he was doing it.

Whatever the reason for this apparent distress, Sarabi had enough motherly instincts from raising Simba to try and help his successor.

"Kovu, isn't it? Look at me." She instructed.

To no huge surprise Kovu obeyed and kept his stare on the lioness. So far so good.

"Sarabi?" He said, clearly confused.

"Yes. I want you to stay calm. I'm trying to help you. Take some deep breaths and relax."

For a few moments nothing happened, but just as Sarabi was starting to think she wasn't having an effect on him, Kovu began to breath slowly and deeply. Something was working, which was a relief of sorts.

Sarabi was about to try something else to calm the dark lion further but before she could act the hulking shape of Simba appeared behind Kovu, accompanied by Zazu and Nala. He didn't look happy, but he also had an element of confusion in his expression as well. Obviously he was reluctant to believe Kovu had done something like Zazu had clearly described to him.

"Kovu?" He said.

Kovu turned to the king, still upholding his expression of confusion and distress. He was now starting to look as though he was registering his surroundings once more. The two dead lions, Simba standing before him looking less than happy, and blood on his claws and around his muzzle.

"What hap-... I... no-No!" Kovu muttered, in a bit of panic. The scent of lion blood as well as taste came upon him like a charging rhino. "Did I? ...What have I done?"

Kovu now sat alone at the back of the cave at Pride rock, his paws folded over one another with his head resting on top. Sarabi had insisted on accompanying Nala and Zazu as they escorted him back while Simba stayed to try and identify the body of the male lion he'd somehow killed but had no proper memory of doing so. And even though he knew Simba wasn't the hateful or vengeful type, that didn't mean Kovu would go through this unscathed, if not by Simba and his family then by others in the Pridelands.

Typical that just when his bad luck seemed to be running out it comes back and bites him in the rear again. Kovu had definitely had more bad luck in the last year than most. Maybe by 'Chosen One' Scar and Zira had meant the one chosen to be granted constant bad luck in life. Obviously that wasn't true, but it might as well have been.

'If things carried on like this who knew where it could lead?' Kovu thought. 'Next thing you know something bad will happen to the cubs-' He stopped himself there. That was one thing he wasn't willing to think about.

Thankfully Vitani appeared and interrupted his train of thought. If anyone would be sympathetic towards Kovu after this, it'd be her. She sat down and looked down on the wreck of her brother on the floor. A little smile in the corner of her mouth as she nudged him lightly.

"You alright?" She asked.

"Oh yeah, just grand." Kovu huffed, turning his head away.

Vitani adopted his lying down position to get closer to him. She hated to see her brother sulking like this.

"Look on the bright side. You're OK, aren't you?"

"Psychologically, no."

"At least you didn't get hurt."

"I suppose so. Although I do have a terrible headache." Kovu said, rubbing the side of his head with one paw.

"Well you can just stay here and rest until Simba gets back if that's the case. Don't want you getting any worse." Vitani said as she stood up.

"I don't think I can get any worse to be honest." Kovu called out to her as she slowly trotted out of the cave.

All Vitani in response was give a quick look at her brother and a smile before heading off to wherever she had in mind. Kovu sighed and closed his eyes. He'd told Kiara to leave him alone for a few hours while this situation was sorted out. A request she had very obediently kept. But now he was regretting not having his mate next to him, not having someone trustworthy to talk to who could maybe help him understand even half of what was happening.

This incident is exactly the sort of thing Kovu associated Scar with after hearing the true stories about him. That was likely the biggest worry of them all for him. All the effort he'd made over the past year to try and distance himself from that monster and now it looked like it had been for nothing. Why did it have to happen now as well, when he was so close to getting what he most wanted in life? A good family, a mate, a cub or possibly two, and as an added bonus he was set to be the next king of the Pridelands. Question was how would that hold up now, after this?

I guess only time will tell.

Sarafina's body had already been removed and taken somewhere until the pride could hold the burial for her. This meant there was only one body left at the scene of the crime, the unidentified male lion. Simba had remained by the water hole in the hopes of figuring out the identity of the lion, who actually bore quite a resemblance to Simba himself come to think of it.

Many of its features were badly mauled by the attack, making it harder to piece together what this lion actually looked like before. As a result it was several minutes before Simba managed to recognise parts of the unfortunate creature. Once one thing was identified so was another, and another, until eventually Simba was able to put a name to the bloody face at his feet. And it shocked him...

"Kopa. My son?"

It was undoubtedly him! Kopa! Simba and Nala's first son, thought to be dead because of past events. Past events that Simba refused to remember now.

But he was alive somehow. What was he doing in the Pridelands though? He must've just returned very recently otherwise someone would have seen him by now and told Simba. Maybe he decided to pay a visit to his old home? Yeah, that seems like something Kopa would do. On his way to pride rock he must have stopped for a drink and then... The incident happened.

If there was one thing to learn, it was that Simba definitely hadn't lost his emotional attachment to Kopa, as he was starting to get a strange mix of sadness and anger. Kovu had killed his son, but there was something that didn't quite make sense. Kovu would never do a thing like this, not in his right mind at least. The only way to find out more as to question the lion himself. Hopefully Simba would be able to contain his anger for such a time, but that could be easier said than done.

Nevertheless, something was going on, and Simba had every intention of finding out what it was.

….

The late afternoon sun shone through the branches of Rafiki's tree, casting long lines on the ground. This gave the place quite a warm and cosy feeling or some reason.

Right now the Mandrill had two patients to deal with, one being Sarabi and the other Kovu. He was tending to Sarabi first since she was more beaten up than Kovu. As a matter of fact Kovu was barely even scratched at all. He was waiting outside in the gentle summer breeze all kinds of misery and self-hate running through him while he ticked off the long seconds before his turn.

Inside Sarabi was sitting upright while Rafiki checked her back, a common place of injury among older lions. He concluded his examination and nodded with a smile.

"Well, dat is it and ya seem to be OK." He informed his patient.

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely. Only a few minor bruises and scratches. Dat is all."

Sarabi gave a smile in return.

"Alright, if you say so. Thanks again, Rafiki."

"It is noting'. And on your way out could you send Kovu in, please?" Requested Rafiki.

"Of course."

Sarabi strolled on out and Rafiki heard her voice outside.

"He's ready for you now." She said.

"Listen, I... I... Sorry, I don't know-" Kovu began to apologise but Sarabi cut him off.

"It's alright. You should worry about yourself right now. Goodbye for now."

Presumably the lioness went away after that as Kovu came in slightly sheepishly, his turned down somewhat with a glum look on his face. He came and parked himself down before the monkey and huffed a sigh.

"And what has gotten you all huffed today, Hmm?" He asked in his signature manner of cheeriness.

"You know what." Kovu replied.

"Yes, but a problem is a problem halved, is it not?"

"Maybe. I couldn't care less about it right now."

As Kovu clearly wasn't in the mood for talking Rafiki got straight to it and started examining the basics first. He checked for any signs of the skin being penetrated, of which none could be found. Kovu grunted a little as others areas were searched, some of which he wasn't used to having searched. There was never any kind of doctor or healer in the Outlands. Like everything else out there it had always been fend for yourself or die, and that included everything from food to water, from health to all aspects of survival. Things were certainly different here. Better.

Although Kovu wondered what life would be like back in the Outlands. Occasionally though, no more.

He stopped having these thoughts when Rafiki came to him and stated: "Lets see how many bruises you managed to get." In his joke-like tone of voice.

Rafiki began his examination of Kovu.

…

The results of Kovu's examination were thankfully largely positive with no major injuries or breaks present, only some cuts and bruises. Because of the minimal extent of these injuries Rafiki sent Kovu back on home to Pride rock. Although he didn't head straight there, opting to take a short detour around the grazing grounds. Choosing to venture through an area that was always deserted this time of day was a smart move as Kovu was still rightfully frightened of himself from the earlier incident. It also meant there was no one around he could hurt.

I killed someone...

I killed two people...

And injured a third...

How was he ever going to forget this? Could he forget? Would the others forget it or would they see this as the final straw and hold it against him indefinitely. In the end only time would tell.

These events couldn't have come at a worse time. When he first started to experience blackouts and such a year ago, he thought nothing of it at the time. That was a foolish thing to do as after a long time of nothing they had suddenly sprung back to life and come back to haunt him in a much bigger way. Luckily these problems didn't ruin his relationship with the Pridelanders like he thought they might and the Outlanders had successfully integrated into the pride, but now things could all change.

It couldn't have been a coincidence that Kovu's 'issues' had arisen again when his and Kiara's cubs were nearly due, the throne wasn't far from being passed on to him and his mate and strangely enough he had started to have recurring nightmares again, just like before. He'd never told anyone about these nightmares, not the recent ones anyway. And that was probably for the best since the members of the pride seemed to be suspicious about many things currently.

After a short while the towering structure of Pride rock was in sight. Kovu kept up the pace as he headed there, eager to get whatever might happen next over and done with. Simba would be there for sure, waiting for him. Kovu had a sneaking suspicion of who that male lion he killed might have been. It was just a passing thought but if it was true then Simba would undoubtedly be mad with him.

Kovu reached the base of Pride rock and he was now able to hear some voices muffled by the distance. One male and two female. Simba, Nala and Kiara perhaps? He began up the steps and tried to make out some of what was being said.

"Simba, please..." Probably Nala.

Now only a couple steps away from the top Kovu could hear perfectly what was being said as he carried on onto the large platform outside the cave.

"Daddy, no!" Came Kiara's voice.

The next thing he knew Simba was marching towards Kovu with an expression of pure anger on his face. He lifted his paw and swung down, impacting on Kovu's face right by where Zira once scarred him. Kovu lost his balance from the sudden blow and fell onto his side, Simba now standing over him menacingly.

"Traitor! Murderer!" He yelled at the top of his voice.

Everyone behind him in the cave backed up slightly, not daring to come near him while he was so worked up. When Kovu opened one of his eyes he could see a few tears in Kiara's eyes. He got to his feet awkwardly. He was hurting around the eye Simba struck and it felt like he'd received another scar across his eye like the one his mother gave him, but he hadn't quite.

"Wha- What?" Kovu managed, actually terrified now. Simba had never done this before. He'd never hit him, no matter what he'd done by accident he'd never hit him. This pretty much confirmed Kovu's suspicion about who the lion he killed had been.

"You killed my son." Simba stated coldly.

"Simba I- I didn't mean to. I didn't know he was-"

"Silence!"

Kovu had heard a few times about Kopa, the first born of Simba and Nala. No one liked to talk about him because of what happened but from what he'd heard Kopa was supposed to have died a long time ago. Now though it seemed he had returned to tell his father about his survival presumably.

That was until he'd met with a horrible end...

"I really don't know what to do with you." Simba continued. "But I can think of a pretty good place to start."

"Simba, please. Let me explain." Kovu pleaded.

"What is there to explain?"

"Simba, I wasn't in control. I have no memory of what happened and I would never have done something like it in my right mind."

Simba stared at the dark lion with an expression that simply read 'go on'. Kovu continued.

"You've seen supernatural things in your time, you should believe me of all people. Please Simba, I wasn't in control. I don't know what happened but... something just... Took over and I have no idea what."

"Daddy, please leave him alone!" Kiara cried out.

"Simba, is this really necessary?" Nala asked.

Simba looked at them and then back at Kovu, not faltering in his angry glare.

"You're claiming something supernatural is affecting you?" He said.

"Yeah. Somehow." Kovu confirmed.

"Very well. First thing tomorrow morning I'll take you to Rafiki and you can tell us everything. And I mean everything you know. Do you understand me?"

"Y-Yes." Kovu replied.

"Good. And you can sleep in the lower cave tonight. For all out safety. We'll see tomorrow what's really going on here." Simba said as he turned and marched away into the cave.

He passed Kiara and Nala, who still had shock across their faces at what he'd done. Kiara quickly went to Kovu and licked him on the cheek.

"Kovu, I'm sorry. What's going on?"

"I don't know. But I don't like it."

"Kiara!" Simba called. He was looking back at his daughter, wanting her to come inside.

"OK, I'll catch you up tomorrow at some point." She said. "Goodnight."

"Night." Kovu repeated, bowing his head and sighing.

Kiara rushed inside and Kovu watched them disappear into the warmth of the den. Once he couldn't see them any more, or perhaps couldn't bare to look at them any more, he plodded away down the steps until he reached the narrow entrance of the small cave that sat on the ground level of Pride rock. It wasn't even really a cave but more of a small gap in the side of the structure. Kovu went inside and did his best to get into a comfortable position on the ground.

This was the lowest Kovu had ever felt and he was even worrying that Simba might not let him be present at the birth of his cubs. Maybe he wouldn't even let him take over as king any more. He knew he would be angry but he could never have prepared himself for how Simba reacted. His only hope now was to pray that Rafiki could pinpoint what the matter was and help to correct it in the morning.

But somehow Kovu didn't think he would get much sleep that night anyway...

…

The pride had settled down now, the best they could at least. Although Kiara was shedding tears still and seemed unable to get comfortable, an annoying side effect of being so close to labour. Vitani lay to the side of the main group pretending to be asleep, her eyes closed but thinking hard.

Simba wanted Kovu to tell him everything he already knew about what was happening to him. Was it a good idea for him to know? She'd been trying so hard to keep all this a secret but it seemed like that would be ruined when Kovu starts talking. Smart thinking would be needed to get around this obstacle, to keep this secret she'd spent so long trying to hide. From her brother, from everyone.

….

It was strange spending the night without Kovu beside her. Kiara had grown so used to him that he felt like something she couldn't live without. But last night was different, as her father had made Kovu sleep away from the rest of them as a result of what happened the previous day. Kiara didn't know what was going on exactly but she knew that Kovu would never do something like Simba described to her of his own free will.

Simba had always been a bit suspicious of Kovu, despite accepting him after the battle with Zira was over, there was still something in him that wouldn't let him forget the connection between Kovu and another lion of which he was related to. Scar. And what worried her the most is that these events had come at such an inconvenient time too.

For the time being she was with Nala at the water hole. She would have been here with Simba but he was currently getting Kovu to take him to Rafiki in the hopes that he'd be able to shed some light on these bizarre occurrences.

"Aren't you thirsty?" Nala asked her daughter when she saw she wasn't drinking.

Nala had just finished lapping up her first drink of the day.

"Um... Not really." Kiara replied, looking down at the ripples her mother had made in the water.

"Are you sure? You should have a drink, you know." Nala prompted.

"I know. I just..." Kiara gave up on trying to think of a full reply and instead did as she was advised.

Nala watched on as Kiara drank from the water source. Looking at her she was reminded of what it was like for herself when Kiara and Kion were born. This experience made her want to help her daughter as much as she could when the time came.

Just as Kiara finished Nala spotted Zazu in the sky above. He came down and landed between them, bowing at Nala.

"Your majesty."

"Zazu."

The hornbill then turned to Kiara.

"I trust you are in good condition today, princess." He said.

"I'm fine, thanks Zazu." Kiara replied.

The bird went back to Nala and began his report.

"I thought I would come and inform you that Simba is taking Kovu to Rafiki now. He's expecting to be done there before midday."

"OK. I really hope he can help." Nala voiced her concern.

"Don't we all, ma'am."

Nala gave a smile and a little chuckle that was soon cut short when Kiara started moaning uncomfortably.

"What is it, Kiara?" Nala asked.

"Um... Take a guess mom." Kiara said.

"Oh my." Zazu exclaimed. "Are you certain?"

"Yes, I'm certain." Kiara said amongst the other little pains and twinges that were beginning to worsen.

Nala bent down and got under Kiara. She then hoisted her up so she was half carrying her.

"OK. We'll go to Rafiki right away." Nala told Kiara.

"Alright. Thanks mom. Try and hurry though." Kiara huffed.

"I'll send word to him that you're coming." Zazu announced as he took off and flew in the direction of the tallest tree in the Pridelands.

Nala helped Kiara as they started to make their way there too. The time they'd been waiting for had finally come.

Simba marched Kovu on ahead of him. Never before had the young lion seen the king in such a bad mood that he'd do this. This truly was the worst thing that had ever happened to him.

Kovu was still rather tired as well, which didn't help. And on top of that another scar had started to form where Simba hit him last night. Not a friendly reminder at all. In fact it only seemed to make Simba even more callous towards him.

They were going to Rafiki to seek help in regard to Kovu's murderous outburst yesterday. Yesterday, which right now seemed like a lifetime ago. The cosy, safe life that they had enjoyed for about a year now seemed so distant, and this terror and distrust was the only thing they'd known for a long time.

They continued on, the tree now in sight. Kovu glanced back occasionally only to see Simba glaring at him every time. Was he staring at him constantly? Every second? It felt like it. Perhaps mercifully Simba's view suddenly turned towards something else when Zazu came and swooped down beside them. He landed next to Simba and both lions could see the facial expression he was displaying, one of panic.

"Sire!" He squawked.

"What is it, Zazu?" Simba demanded.

"The princess, Kiara, is in labour! She's being attended to by Rafiki now!"

"What!?" Both lions went in unison.

"Take us there now!" Simba instructed.

"Kiara. I can't believe it." Kovu muttered to himself.

The three animals went as fast as they could toward their destination. Kovu was filled with both excitement and fear. His cubs were about to be born, but with the current situation with Simba there was no telling what could happen later on. Nevertheless they carried on their way.

Once outside Simba stopped the dark lion with him and Zazu remained hovering just above their heads. Zazu was about to head in.

"In here, your majesty. Nala is already inside."

"Thanks, Zazu."

Simba was about to follow Zazu inside when Kovu stepped forward.

"Simba." He said.

Simba turned around with a scowl. "What?"

"Please. Let me go in as well. I know you don't trust me right now but you can't deny me this."

Simba didn't reply as he thought it through. Right now he wasn't sure what to make of the young lion. He knew there was something not right surrounding him. Then again he still had some feeling in him that Kovu was innocent in some way. The conflict was complex, but eventually Simba came to the conclusion that Kovu did indeed deserve to see this. It was something that no lion should have to miss witnessing and no matter what he'd done, intentionally or not, Kovu was no exception in that regard.

"Alright. Come in then. I'm keeping an eye on you though." He answered.

"Thank you." Kovu thanked Simba with relief and joy.

Simba, Kovu and Zazu all entered at once, eager to see if they had missed the big moment yet. What they saw upon entering was Kiara on the floor with Nala beside her, the youngest of the pair appearing to be hiding something by the way she was lying with her back to them.

"Kiara." Kovu called.

Kiara and her mother both turned their heads to see the males standing in suspense.

"Kovu!" Kiara cheered out.

Kovu ran to Kiara as quick as he could and nuzzled her while Simba walked to Nala's side.

"So what's the result?" He asked his mate.

"Good news, Simba. Their healthy and fine."

"Their? There's two of them after all then?"

"Well..."

Kiara shifted herself to reveal two cubs. One was the same colour as Kiara with dark brown rings around his eyes and the same underbelly and paws as its mother, while the other was all brown like Kovu with an underbelly of a slightly lighter shade to the rest of its fur. Both were males.

"He came first." Kiara told her mate, pointing to the lighter cub, the one that bore resemblance to her. "And he came a couple minutes later." She moved her point to the darker cub.

"Their beautiful." Said Kovu.

"And that's not all." Nala announced.

Nala moved her front paws to the side to reveal yet another two cubs. This time both female and both with much lighter fur than both their parents.

"Quadruplets?" Simba exclaimed.

"Yeah. Didn't expect that." Nala responded.

"Do you have names for them yet?" Kovu asked.

"Not yet. But I'm sure we'll come up with some suitable names soon. Together."

None of them had foreseen that there would be four cubs, a shock to them all. But now that they were here all four of the lions couldn't be happier. It was enough to even make Simba temporally forget what he came here for originally, much to Kovu's delight. They all savoured the warm feeling that always came with the birth of new pride members, and the new heir in the first born of the four cubs.

No doubt Simba and Kovu would still have their meeting with Rafiki afterwards, but right now that was put to the side in favour of this happy time.


	5. Chapter 5: Cubs in Danger!

A few days later, the cubs had grown fast - Kiara had birthed not two, but four cubs. Two male, Two female. While the two brothers played, Bariki and Chuma; Lina was busy grooming her fur which left Leah who, though rather small, placed her paws on her mother's own paw.

"Um, mom? When can we see the lands?" The cub gave a cute smile, a little similar to Kiara's own "innocent" one back when, unknowingly to them both Nala and Simba had done the same as cubs.

Chuma was named such, which means "Hero" - as on more than one occasion he had saved his own siblings from danger; though he was not firstborn. The heir title went to their brother, Bariki. Something that none of his siblings appeared to have any objection to. So the cubs were all getting along, which was a good sign.

Kiara could see where her two sons were playing: just in the field outside Pride rock. She looked back at where Lina was grooming herself and then back at Leah, who on a few occasions had been a little left out from the group but they always spent a good amount of time with her eventually. It was surprising just how normal the cubs were acting when you take into regard the unusually dangerous state the Pridelands were in currently. For whatever reason they were experiencing heightened raids from hyenas, jackals and other scavenger animals alike. And yet Chuma, Bariki, Lina and Leah all seemed to be perfectly capable young lions, especially Chuma after the few times he saved the others.

Kiara was so proud of her and Kovu's children. She never expected them to be so... Ready, to take on the world around them, and they'd only been born less than a week ago too. Kiara thought she'd best answer her daughter's question.

"Well. I don't think now is the best time but later on perhaps. Is that OK?"

"Yeah, I guess." Leah said, sounding a bit disappointed.

"I just want to wait until the safest time, alright."

"Yeah but we've been fine so far, haven't we? Chuma can protect us if anything happens."

"I know, but you can never be too careful, Leah. I don't want anything to happen to the four of you and I'm going to make sure it doesn't."

"If you say so, mom."

Kiara smiled and once again watched her son's play. They didn't seem too bothered about having a tour at the moment anyway and as for Lina, she was definitely not bothered right now. But the cubs would need to be shown around sooner or later if they were going to get on here. Maybe in the afternoon when Kovu was back so they could make it a family outing. That was a good idea. Kiara gave her eyes a rest for now.

Simba and Kovu were travelling together across the savannah after their morning patrol, something that Simba had decided was a good idea to add to the schedule since the hostility from outland animals became greater. Since Kovu's check-up with Rafiki Simba had relaxed his aggressive attitude towards the young lion. He still kept an eye on him whenever he could, but going by what Rafiki said there shouldn't be any real problems from now on. It was still a bit of an unsolved mystery as to what exactly happened but thankfully they'd managed to convince the pride that it was the result of some kind of nervous breakdown, what with Kovu having his cubs with Kiara and all stress was bound to take hold in some way or another. So now the two males were on better terms with each other, allowing for a better friendship too.

"I hope you're proud of your cubs." Simba said during the conversation.

"Of course. Chuma especially. But the others just as much." Kovu replied.

"That's good then. I certainly didn't expect you to have four though."

"Yeah, I was shocked as well. I only thought Kiara would have one or two."

"Well I'm sure you'll care for all of them very well."

"Thanks. Although I am slightly worried about Leah, the youngest. She seems to spend the most time alone out of the four of them. She can be very quiet sometimes as well."

"Sounds familiar." Simba said as the two lions came to a stop by the water hole.

"How'd you mean?" Kovu asked, trying to keep his eyes away from where the 'incident' happened.

"Well believe it or not Kiara was just like that to begin with. I know you wouldn't think that now but for a while she was shy and spent time alone."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Don't tell her I told you though. It'll embarrass her."

Kovu chuckled a little. He was pleased things were working out between the two of them finally. Or at least the best he could have hoped it to, which was enough.

"You can't catch me this time!" Chuma shouted to his brother.

The two brothers were engaged in a game of tag, and it was Bariki's turn to be the tagger. He was struggling to catch Chuma, not surprising since he seemed to be the most athletic of the quadrupole siblings.

"Give me a minute, we've only just started!" Bariki replied.

They were both concentrating to the utmost level, so much so that neither of them saw their mom approaching across the open land. Chuma was looking over his shoulder as he came bounding towards her. Since Bariki was facing forwards he then spotted Kiara and slowed down but his brother did not. Chuma suddenly found himself falling head over heels over Kiara's front paws,landing beside her with an 'oof'.

"Careful." She said.

Chuma got to his feet and brushed himself off the best he could while Bariki casually came strolling up to the two of them, a smug grin plastered across his face.

"Well you don't have to look so amused by it." Chuma protested.

"Why not? It was the funniest thing I've seen all day." Said Bariki.

Kiara began checking over her slightly clumsier son.

"Are you alright, Chuma?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Kiara confirmed that and finished her check.

"You should look where you're going when you're running that fast, you know." She said.

"Sorry." Chuma said, looking a bit embarrassed.

"Anyway, I came down to tell you that when your father gets back we were planning on a little family outing. You two, me, your father and your sisters."

"Where are we going?" Bariki asked.

"Just around the Pridelands. It's about time you learned about the kingdom. After all, you'll be in charge of it in years to come. So, you two coming?"

"Yeah." Both cubs replied at once.

"Good. You'll probably see Kovu coming back before me. If you do he'll walk with you back to Pride rock. If not then come back in an hour. Do you two understand?"

Chuma and Bariki answered respectively.

"Yes, mom."

"Yeah."

"OK. See you later then. Love you both." Kiara said, turning to head back to Pride rock to check up on Lina and Leah.

Before she could get even ten feet away she heard the sound of the brothers carrying on with their game behind her. For them an hour would just fly by. The same couldn't be said for the girls though. While Lina usually found something to occupy herself with, she still got bored easier than her brothers. Leah was the worst when it came to things to do however. It was just in her nature to not be involved with her siblings that much. Despite that Kiara had no doubt that she would have a fun time with the others later on during their tour of the Pridelands.

Leah watched her mother get smaller and smaller as she got further and further away from Pride rock. Kiara was going to check up on the boys and told her and Lina about what would happen later when Kovu got back.

Suddenly Leah felt something on one of her shoulders, which made her jump.

"Agh!" She cried as she turned around.

Behind her was Lina, her paw in the air and a grin on her face. She'd just tapped Leah on the shoulder and startled her. Lina broke into a laugh as Leah tried to control her breathing.

"That wasn't funny!" She shouted.

"Sorry." Lina managed between fits of laughter that eventually calmed down. "But I didn't expect you to be so jumpy."

"Well don't do that again OK."

"Fine. Where's mom?" Lina asked, wandering out in front of her sister to get a better view.

"With Chuma and Bariki like she said."

"Well, that gives us some time."

Lina turned right and headed towards the slope that lead down to ground level. Leah stopped her with her question.

"Where are you going, Lina?"

Lina halted herself and faced Leah. Her face suggesting that she was a little annoyed by her sister's enquiring manner.

"OK, here's the thing. I heard from one of the pride boys that there's something really cool at the west border."

"Who told you that?"

"It was Haaminiki, down by the water hole a couple days ago."

Leah sighed and went to stand closer to Lina.

"You know what Haaminiki's like. He enjoys messing with people. Do you really think he was telling the truth?"

"I don't know. Still worth a look though, isn't it?"

Leah didn't answer. She looked out at the view of the kingdom before looking at her paws on the ground.

"Oh come on." Lina said. "What are you worried about? It's perfectly safe, I'm sure."

"Shouldn't we wait for mom?"

"Pfft. She'll be with those two for a while yet. We'll only be ten minutes at the most."

"I don't know..."

"I'll look after you, Leah. Come on. Live a little."

Leah thought for a bit longer. She was the most fearful of the four for some reason. She didn't know why but so much scared her that the others found to be quite normal. In the end she thought that, with Lina with her, it perhaps wouldn't be too bad.

"Alright." She replied.

"Great!" Lina jumped up and down in joy before zipping off faster than a hyped up cheetah, down the slope.

"Hey, wait up!" Leah called out.

It was too late for that however. Lina was already at ground level and had turned back, signalling for her to follow quickly. Leah went "Ugh" and joined her adventurous sister. As soon as she caught up Lina had began to run in the direction of the west border. Leah said nothing, preferring to not waste any time in this. If she lost Lina at all between Pride rock and the border then Leah would be completely lost. Ideally this little trip could've waited until after their tour later today, but it seemed that once Lina had her mind set on something it couldn't be diverted.

Leah was now closing the gap between her and Lina, much to her relief.

"You're sure we won't be long?" Leah asked.

"Trust me. We'll be back before mom notices." Lina replied.

"I hope you're right."

Kiara was still aching in places from the birth, like Rafiki told her she would, and she was reminded of this upon climbing back up Pride rock. A few minor twinges found their way into her body but it was nothing that she couldn't handle. With a deep breath she padded over into the cave, expecting to see her two daughters still there, resting or licking themselves. But to her horror they weren't! The cave was empty! She'd only been a couple of minutes and they had gone! Where were they?

"Lina! Leah!" Kiara called in futility.

Quickly Kiara made the decision to find Zazu and get him to search for them. She bolted outside and saw her son's coming up to the cave. They must've seen that she was distressed as Bariki asked:

"Mom, what's wrong?"

"It's your sisters. They've gone!"

Kiara leapt towards the slope leading down and turned back to the cubs.

"You two stay here in the den until I or your father get back. Don't go anywhere. You got that?"

Chuma and Bariki both nodded at the same time. Kiara then vanished down and across the valley below after spotting the bird she was after in the distance. The two brothers were left alone. They looked at each other in confusion.

"Lina and Leah have gone?" Chuma said.

"That's what she said. Where d'you think they went"

"I don't know. Maybe they were silly enough to go to that place Haaminiki was blabbing about the other day."

"Shall we follow them?"

"Yeah. Wouldn't mind seeing what's there for myself actually."

And just like that Bariki and Chuma went to find their sisters. They didn't usually disobey their parents like this but this time curiosity was getting the better of them. Perhaps they were overconfident due to Chuma's past records of saving them? Perhaps they overlooked the possibility of danger all together? But whatever happened, this was probably not going to be the best decision on their parts.

Dry green was the most prominent colour where the girls currently were, with the grass being dark and dried up from the intense sun. All around them stood hills of varying sizes, some small, some medium and some rather big, at least in comparison to their small size. Leah was trying her best to keep Lina in sight but the maze between all the hills was making that somewhat difficult. The fact that the ground was muddy and she kept slipping didn't help either.

"Hey! Slow down!" She called out.

Lina didn't reply. She was probably too far away to hear in the first place.

As Leah ran past a small cluster of hills there was also something odd present. Something she didn't spot and instead carried on at her current pace. Two small, round bluish-green eyes belonging to the head of a female jackal with a light orange coat. She was laying low to the ground in order to remain hidden as her prey went by. When she saw that Leah had vanished behind another set of hills she set, down from her raised up watching point and headed off with the information of what she'd seen.

Meanwhile, Lina had gotten close to the end of the hill valley and had decided to give Leah a chance to catch up at last. She sat down for a quick rest and waited. There was no sign of her sister for a good minute or so, until finally, Lina caught glimpse of her round a far off corner.

"Over here!" She shouted.

Leah ran towards her and was by her side in a matter of seconds. They may have been young but they were surprisingly fit. Despite this Leah was still panting when she reached Lina as she too sat down to rest her aching legs briefly.

"I... Called to you... To slow down..." She panted between breaths.

"Slow down? Are you kidding me? We can't afford to slow down if we're going to get there and back before mom notices. I think it's just through here." Lina pointed out the path that lead from the end of the hill valley up ahead to where she was sure they were heading.

"Well I... Hope you're right."

"Trust me. You ready?"

"Yeah." Leah stood up on all fours. "I'm ready."

"Good. Let's go then." Lina said, patting Leah on the shoulder.

The two cubs resumed their journey, side by side and at a fast pace. Both were full of excitement of what they might find when they arrived. Even Leah, the most fearful and least curious of the four cubs, was intrigued by the thought of the unknown. But would they find something that would live up to their expectations? Or would it be a disappointment?

**

There was one area in the Pridelands where no lion ever bothered to go. For no reason in particular other than that there was no need to. It was right near the western border, a cave in amongst a small canopy of trees, hidden away perfectly. Perhaps it was due to the close proximity to the jackal territory across the border that no one ever ventured to it. But for a certain few individuals it was just as well that the lions didn't come near.

The cave was in fact the home of three jackals, once belonging to a bigger group. Two of them, both males, were inside at the present time and waiting for the return of the third. The one with the brown fur and black hair running down the back of his neck was on watch at the entrance, scanning around with his pink-red pupils for any sign of their friend.

"Any sign of her yet, Bungee?" Asked the other jackal.

The other one was a light orange like their companion, green eyes this time and also with hair on the back of his neck but not as long, though still the same colour. The first jackal, Bungee, turned to him and said, "No. Not yet. She's only been a few minutes."

Edan was the name of the second jackal. Not as smart as the other two but still valuable to them.  
"Seems longer." He complained.

"Remember that time when she was out for hours? This is a walk in the park compared to that."

Edan sighed rather loudly. The acoustics in the cave must have been surprisingly good because it amplified the volume of the sigh by a considerable amount.

"Your trouble Edan is you have no patience." Said Bungee. This much at least was true.

"You mentioned that time Sugu was gone for hours. Remember what happened to US because she took so long?" Edan pointed out the large pinkish mark over his left eye. The result of an injury.

Sugu, who was the third jackal in the trio, had taken much longer than was planned to return with food one day. The problem with that was that they were hiding out in the territory of a rival pack. The plan was for them to eat and then move out immediately, but because Sugu was late the rival pack found Bungee and Edan, resulting in something a bit more serious than an argument. Edan got the worst of the injuries in that fight, which may have been why he acted like a jerk at times.

"I haven't forgotten. You won't let me forget either."

"Guys." Came Sugu's voice. The jackal with the light orange fur that had seen the two cubs from atop a hill.

She emerged from the foliage and joined Bungee in the arch of the cave mouth. She apologized for taking so long.

"Sorry I was a while. But you'll be happy to hear wh-" She was interrupted by Edan doing what he did best. Complain.

"If I had a meal for every time my butt got numb from waiting for you to report back then I'd never go hungry again, ya know."

"Carry on like that and you can go find your own dinner next time." Sugu retorted.

"Ignore him." Interjected Bungee. Edan stayed quiet afterwards. "Carry on."

Sugu continued.

"Well, like I was saying, you'll be happy to hear what I found in the hill valley."

"What?"

Sugu cast a look at Edan when she gave her answer. "Food."

Edan turned his head, perked his ears up and suddenly took an interest. "Food? What food?"

Sugu smirked. "Now you're interested. Yes, food. A couple of lions cubs passing through the hills. Saw them a few minutes ago."

"Just the two of them?" Asked Bungee.

"I only saw the two of them. And I have a plan on how we can catch them."

**

The two joyful and enthusiastic sisters bound across the last stretch of land between them and the place they were headed. This was it! This is when they would find out what was here to cause one of the other cubs to talk so highly of it. Lina was slightly ahead of Leah, as she usually was, so she was the first to reach it, with her now exhausted sister catching up a few seconds later.

They had stopped in a circular area with a high stone wall going all the way around, except for the part they entered by. The dead end was probably no more than ten metres in diameter, and more importantly, and very disappointingly, it was empty. There was nothing here, in the supposedly awesome secret place. Lina sighed as she began to search along the left wall, walking along it.

"I can't believe it. Haaminiki was telling fibs after all." She said.

"I had an idea he was. He's always telling lies and stuff." Leah replied.

Lina reached the opposite end of the circular chamber and turned to Leah.

"Well this takes the biscuit, doesn't it. We came all the way out here for nothing." Disappointed, Lina rejoined her sister's side.

"I'll have something to say to him later." She continued.

"Lina, I know it's a bummer there's nothing here but can we just head on back now? I'm not sure about being out here like this. We're quite far from Pride rock and no one else knows where we are." Leah told her, sounding worried.

Lina took one last look at the small canyon they were in before sighing and walking passed Leah.

"Come on then. Lets go."

She vanished round the corner, clearly in a grumpy mood because of this. Leah was about to follow when she caught a faint scent of something she wasn't sure what it was. She wasn't very good at identifying scents yet, but she knew enough to know that this one was unlike anything in the Pridelands. And as far as she knew, non-Pridelanders were hostile. As she was thinking this she heard a sudden noise from somewhere, but couldn't pinpoint it. Getting very paranoid now, she started to run to catch up to Lina and turned the corner when a much taller and bigger figure jumped out in front, blocking her path. A brown and black haired jackal, bearing over her.

"Lina!" She screamed out.

A short distance away she saw Lina turn round, next thing she was running back to her position. But the jackal, Bungee, grabbed Leah in his mouth and went back into the dead end. Once in the center of the circular area he let go of Leah and threw her down, her head hitting a rock in the process before she landed on the ground at the far side.

Bungee then hid round the corner for Lina to come round, which she did almost as soon as he'd hid. The strong jackal pounced and caught the cub, sending them both into a short tumble before stopping with Bungee on top.

"Get off!" Lina shouted.

Bungee ignored her and smacked her across the floor before standing in the entrance, blocking it. The other two, Edan and Sugu stepped in on the top of the stone walls. Now surrounded by the three jackals, Lina got to her feet and got her bearings. She saw her sister lying unconscious a few feet away and dashed over to help her.

"Leah!" She said, nudging her head to try and wake her up. There was no response. "Leah, wake up!"

"She's lucky!" Shouted Edan in a taunt. "She won't feel the pain."

Just then Leah began to stir awake. Edan was getting ready to pounce so Lina quickly pushed her sister to the side before leaping back herself. Both cubs managed to avoid the attacking jackal as he slammed into the ground, slid along for a moment until colliding with the stone wall at the other end.

Leah soon reoriented herself and saw Lina across from her, worry and panic on her small, furry face. She heard a female voice to he left and looked toward it.

"Edan! Are you gonna get them or do I have to come down there and do it myself?" Sugu said mockingly.

Edan got to his feet and brushed himself down. He scowled at her.

"Come on then. We'll make it three on two."

"Why not?"

Sugu jumped down into the chamber alongside Edan. With Bungee blocking the only way out for the cubs they began to panic.

Leah was now fully conscious and aware of her current predicament. Her sister was all the way at the side of the dead end, and one jackal held the exit while the other two picked out their targets, being Lina and Leah, the latter of which was shaking with fear.

"Leah!" Lina called out.

Leah concentrated on the image of Lina with the large, golden male jackal advancing on her, his teeth bared and drooling. What could she do? There was nothing that came to mind, and all the while the female jackal came towards her. She was too small and weak to fight back, and there was barely any room to escape.

She closed her eyes shut tightly, wishing for just one thing. She wished her brothers were here to save them.

Suddenly, as though her prayers were heard and answered, she opened her eyes at the sound of something hitting the ground close by. The first thing she saw was Chuma pinning down the brown jackal that had been blocking their way out.

"Guys!" It called out.

The other two turned their attention to him, the female cried, "Bungee!", and rushed over to help. But before she could reach him Bariki came bounding round the corner and jumped up, colliding with the animal and knocking her down.

Lina and Leah both ran to each other and together they made for Chuma at the opening of the rocks. He smiled a little smugly but the girls didn't mind. They were just thankful that their brothers were here in the nick of time to save them from becoming a jackal's first course.

"How did you know where to find us?" Lina asked.

Chuma replied, pressing down on Bungee's head under his paw, "We figured you'd be coming here after Haaminiki said about this place. You really shouldn't be so gullible, you two."

"Whatever. Thanks for coming. Now let's get going before those jackals recover." Lina said before running off passt her brother, leaving Chuma and Leah.

"Thanks Chuma." Leah said, mimicking Lina.

"No problem. You'd better follow Lina. We'll be right behind you."

Leah headed after Lina, disappearing out of sight round the corner where the rocky death trap opened up into a valley. Chuma looked back to see Bariki out-manoeuvring the other two vicious creatures with surprisingly good success. It almost looked as though he was enjoying himself, but it high time they were both out of here and following their sisters.

"Bariki! Come on!" Chuma gestured to him with one of his paws, directing over to the exit.

Bariki saw and ran there, Edan and Sugu chasing after a few moments of composure. Chuma hopped off Bungee and scrammed as Bariki came up behind him. Both made it out into the valley before their perusers regrouped.

Lina and Leah were already far away, much to the surprise of the two cubs. They had to take a moment to find them on the horizon before attempting to follow. As Chuma took his first few steps though Bariki found himself sent hurtling into a ditch by the biggest of the jackals, Edan, and landing with many sharp pains piercing his skin. He'd landed in a thorn bush and couldn't move from all the sudden pain, letting out a cross between a scream and an attempted roar (which sounded more like a whiny groan due to him being young).

Chuma stopped dead in his tracks and whipped around. The trio of predators were all crowded around the ditch that Bariki had fallen in. Despite his multiple displays of bravery and saving his siblings, Chuma was sure he couldn't take on three fully grown jackals by himself. There was only one hope he could think of now. Before they left his mom and Zazu had gone to find help to search for the girls. The search would have to be extended for them too. But would they get there in time?

Leah was a considerable distance ahead of her sister, Lina, for once as opposed to the other way around. It felt like they'd been running for a long time when in reality it was likely only a couple of minutes, maybe three or four, at best. If it had been a sunny day the two cubs might have gotten too hot to go on, but it would seem that the sun was in their favour today, not shining enough for the heat to be overwhelming, allowing them to continue at their current pace.

Lina was worrying how long her brothers would last with those vicious creatures. One too many times she'd glanced back to see that they weren't there behind her, leading her to fill in the gaps and come to the conclusion that Bariki and Chuma were still in the presence of the jackals who'd attacked them. The strongest impulse in her mind now was to get away, and the second strongest to get help for the boys.

Soon came the sight of three familiar individuals approaching on the horizon. The sight of which made Lina and Leah's eyes light up with relief, like those of a a traveller discovering civilisation for the first time in months of being alone.

"Mom! Dad!" She called out.

"Ouch!" Bariki screamed as another thorn pierced through his fur and into his skin. Every move he made resulted in another prick from the thorn bush he'd fallen in. It was close to agony and made escaping impossible.

The situation was made even worse by the three pairs of hungry eyes looking over him from above. Amongst his efforts to wriggle free from the spiky clutches of the bush Bariki caught glimpses of their faces, which he could have done without. He was certain that he saw the biggest one drooling at one point too.

"Don't squirm!" The smaller male jackal, Bungee, taunted him. "I don't want all the juices to be gone when we chow down."

Bariki thought of calling for Chuma, but it would likely be in vain as he wouldn't be able to do much anyway.

Chuma, on the other hand, desperately wanted to call out for assistance and for someone to magically appear by his side. What he would give for a miracle right now. Just when he thought it was surely over for his brother, one came.

"Chuma!"

Chuma turned around and his eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. The caller had been Lina, racing towards him accompanied by Leah. And with the pair of them was his parents and Kion. Kiara and Kovu were almost level with the girls while Kion was right behind them.

In a matter of seconds the group stopped in front of Chuma. Kiara and Kovu wasted no time in bestowing their anger on the jackals, leaving Chuma and his sisters with Kion, who stood in a protective like manner in front of them.

Kovu charged at the scavengers and knocked two of the across the ground a good ten feet away. Meanwhile Kiara pounced on the other, the female Suguu, and pinned her with the jackal's stomach being pressed hard into the muddy ground.

Kovu got to his feet to see the two males making a run for it towards a thick line of trees in the distance. Satisfied that they'd both retreated for good, he turned to see how Kiara was doing with her opponent. Needless to say she was winning against the smaller creature, who had probably had less training than Kiara as it was.

"Bariki's in that ditch!" Chuma said.

Kovu heard and proceeded to check the ditch to his right. Peering down he saw his son, his fur now stained crimson from the various cuts he'd acquired from the thorn bush he was in. Kovu suppressed a gasp and reached down, grabbed Bariki in his jaw and hoisted him up onto the safe ground. He began checking him over the best he could immediately.

Now looking over at Kovu and Bariki, Kiara saw how badly her son had been hurt. She threw her paw across Sugu's face, leaving a nasty mark to the left of her muzzle, before leaping away to check Bariki. As soon as the lioness was off Suguu, seeing the glare Kion was giving her, scarpered in the same direction that her two companions went, eventually vanishing into a microscopic dot on the horizon.

Soon all present were crowding around the injured cub. They were all glad to find that, upon closer inspection, the cuts weren't quite as bad as they'd looked from a distance. But he would still need a proper examination back home.

"I'll carry him." Kovu said.

"OK." Kiara replied. She turned to her daughters with a serious look on her face. "When we get back you two can tell me just what you were doing going off by yourselves all the way out here."

Lina and Leah both said nothing. Instead they gave a sorry expression as Kiara and Kovu, carrying Bariki in his mouth again, walked passed them. They started following when Kion came up behind and prompted them along with Chuma. Soon the group was on a march back to Pride rock. Chuma spoke to his sisters as they walked.

"Well... That... could have gone... Better." It was clear he felt just as sorry as them.

Leah felt particularly anxious, a nearly sickening feeling in her stomach after what'd happened today. She didn't like it one bit.

Back home, Bariki whined as the mandrill treated his wounds, hiding his face with the left paw - refusing to let them look let alone clean or treat it. "Mmph, No!"

At least, until the den had cleared out and there wasn't as many bodies there. Sniffling, the young cub cautiously looked up at his father as tears stained his fur, unfortunately said tears also caused his wound to sting. A gash was over the cub's left eye, not unlike Kovu's. Still, this gave Rafiki a chance to treat the cub's face now.

Kovu suddenly looked to the right, on hearing something… a laugh, followed by his own name. Yet a quick glance at everyone else told him that nobody had heard it, had heard anything…

Bariki complained loudly again as Rafiki applied some kind of herbal remedy to his wounds. Kovu dismissed the bizarre sound at hearing his son, returning his attention back to him. Best to concentrate on the more important matter after all. He noticed Kiara's face when he glances over at her every now and then, the look of worry very slowly fading as Rafiki went through the procedure, knowing her son was going to get better. The monkey's reputation was pretty famous in the Pridelands come to think of it, especially amongst the royal members of the pride.

Beneath Kiara sat Chuma, equally worried by the looks of him. All the siblings had wanted to come in and see their brother, but only Chuma had been permitted because of how insistent he'd been about it. The girls waited at Pride rock with their grandfather, Simba, where they no doubt were impatiently anticipating the return of their brothers and parents.

It was hard to tell how long they were at Rafiki's tree for. Time seemed to be absent for the entirety of their visit, and as such Kovu couldn't determine if they were there for hours or ten minutes, or however long. But when the treatment session was finally over he was relieved to hear the news that his son would be fine. A couple weeks of staying out of trouble and his cuts and bruises would heal up nicely, or about as nicely as could be expected with so many minor gashes.

**

As expected, the girls were waiting on the ledge when they arrived home. The two brothers marched on side by side, one watching out for the other, sandwiched between Kiara and Kovu in front and behind. It was like an escort.

Lina and Leah came straight up to see the boys when they reached the top of Pride rock, desperate to see if he was OK.

"Didn't think I'd be babysitting when I woke up this morning." Simba remarked.

"Thank you, daddy. I know it was short notice." Kiara said, rubbing her head under her father's chin.

"It's no problem." He replied in a friendly voice.

Kovu was dealing with the kids. He shooed Chuma and the girls inside so he could speak with Bariki.

"But dad..." Lina protested.

"Please, Lina. Just do as I say. We'll join you in a minute."

Lina looked at her brother, looking a little worse for wear. Even though they'd all been in the jackal attack, he had come out the most battered and beaten. Bariki smiled at her and assured her, "I'm alright. See you in a minute."

Lina waited for a second, then smiled back. If Bariki said he's OK, then she knows he is. She spun round and followed her other two siblings inside to where the rest of the pride were already in the process of falling asleep. Simba and Kiara went to join them, stopping briefly to ask Kovu if he would too.

"Just a minute. I want to talk to Bariki about a few things first."

Kiara just nodded and went inside with her father. Now they were alone, father and son, in the almost complete darkness of the night, lit only by the stars and moon shining down. Bariki was waiting, wondering what his father would do next. Kovu turned away from him and gazed out over the horizon. Well, what was visible of the horizon in the considerably low light.

"Bariki, you know the world is a big place, don't you?" He asked without looking round.

Bariki padded up beside his dad and sat down. He tried to see what he was looking at in the blackness ahead. Nothing maybe?

"Yeah. I know. Very big." He replied.

"And do you think it's all safe like Pride rock?"

"Well... No. Of course it isn't. I know that."

Kovu looked down at his son. Both pairs of eyes met. Green on green.

"Exactly." Said Kovu. "That's why we worry about you, your mother and I. We worry about all four of you."

Bariki was unsure what to say to this, and when he didn't speak for some seconds Kovu continued.

"Bariki. As the firstborn you'll be the one who becomes king one day in the future. Now, you're all precious to Kiara and me, but that makes you the most precious from the pride's point of view."

"If I don't become king, won't that mean Chuma or one of the girls is chosen instead?"

"Yes, technically. But they've all come to regard you as being the best for the job. And I think they might be right. Chuma's brave but be doesn't have the same skills as you do. He told me you were the one that suggested the pair of you go and find the girls."

Bariki gave a nod.

"I thought so. And as for your sisters... Lina's confident but her judgement isn't the best. And Leah, well, she's very shy and timid, bless her. So you see why you're the best choice for future king?"

"I guess so."

Kovu got closer. He was mere centimetres away from Bariki's face when he went to nuzzle him. The lion's voice went softer.

"I love you. I love all of all. Your mom and I want you to be safe. You're so precious to us and to the Pridelands."

"OK."

"I need you to carry on my legacy, Bariki. Everything I am and have done will pass onto you. You'll need to keep it alive, and make sure it lives on."

"Is that what you did for Simba? And what he did for his dad?"

"Yes. That's how it's worked for generations. And that's why you need to promise me you'll stay out of trouble as much as possible. Promise?"

Kovu eyed the cub, waiting for a response. Of course, there was only one Bariki was going to give.

"OK. I promise." Although how much he meant it was uncertain.

Kovu didn't seem to pick up on this uncertainty though. It was getting rather late as it was, so the best course of action now would be to go inside and get some sleep. Exactly what the two lions did. Both turned and headed into the cave where their family was waiting for them.

"Dad. I'm sorry about today."

"It's alright. It wasn't your fault. As long as you're safe, it's fine."

Not long after Pride rock was silent and dark as it was most nights. A very sleepy atmosphere, but also a safe one.

Or was it? Bariki found himself rudely awoken by some older lions. "Leave me alone, I just want to sleep!" But the older ones did not, instead finding himself being dragged roughly out of bed. "Aww, baby Baka going to go crying to daddy?" One of the older cubs laughed mockingly, as another chomped down hard on Bariki's tail, with the third on his back digging his claws into the heir's sides while biting at his nape.

Bariki cried out in pain but his cry was cut short by the paw of one of the attackers clamping around his muzzle. It was the first one, the one that had dragged him across the den to where they were now assaulting him quite mercilessly. He seemed to be the biggest of the three. Ufu, his name was, Bariki remembered Chuma saying something about him a few days ago. His fur was an unusual dirty brownish-green colour with greyish-white slits of fur dotted around his coat. In the darkness it was hard to see but Bariki could have sworn that Ufu's red eyes glowed ever so slightly, but that was probably just his imagination and panic.

Kuta, reddish/orange furred cub, was the one trying to take a bite out of Bariki's tail. While the brown furred Jarad was doing the worst damage, simultaneously clawing his sides and biting the prince's neck. It wasn't quite hard enough to do real damage as such, but it was certainly causing a lot of pain.

And somehow the trio of bullies managed to conduct their carnage so quietly that no one in the cave awoke to help. Even their quiet laughs were more like whispers. Whispers, but with all the menace as if they were at full volume. Bariki needed a way to help himself as there was no one else to do it for him. He quickly tried to think of something he could do to get the cubs off him., but nothing seemed to present itself.

Then an opportunity came, just for a brief second, when Ufu decided he was going to swipe Bariki in the face with his other paw, the one he wasn't using to clasp around his mouth. As the bulking monster drew back his front left leg to take the swing his other paw shifted a bit, enough for Bariki to get a grip of it between his teeth and bite down. Ufu quickly jarred himself back in shock, letting out a loud cry. This also acted as a signal to Jarad and Kuta to stop what they were doing and stand back as well.

Ufu glared at the heir cub, hate clear in his eyes now. "You little piece of-"

What's this all about then?" Came Kovu's voice from a couple of feet away. He must've been woken up by Ufu's cry of pain and had leapt into action immediately to protect his son.

"Oh. Um..." Ufu stuttered.

"I think you three should go to the other side of the cave. And I suggest you sleep there from now on."

"If you say so." Kuta said nervously.

"Good. And I wouldn't go near Bariki again if I were you. Not for a long time. Got it?!" Kovu growled, bearing his teeth for good measure.

"Um, yeah. Sure, sure." Ufu muttered before he and his accomplices awkwardly trotted over to the opposite side of the den, all the time under the watchful view of the king.

Once they were settled down Kovu went to check on his son. There was some blood but it didn't seem to be too serious. He was probably in shock more than anything else.

"Thanks dad." Bariki whimpered, sitting down by his father's legs and trying to sink into them, because that made him feel safe.

"What happened?" Asked Kovu.

"I was sleeping and then they just came at me. No warning."

"Sorry that happened, son. People will be jealous, or attention seekers, or just plain jerks. It's just something you have to put up with."

Kovu rubbed his son on the back slowly, soothingly.

" Why did they do it?" Bariki questioned.

"They probably just like picking on you because you're the future king. Maybe they see you as different because of that. But if they do, they're wrong. Just because you're my heir you're still a normal, young lion like them and the other cubs. If they can't see that then it's their fault, not yours."

"They're not nice. Why can't they just leave me alone?"

"Don't worry. I'll see to it that they're kept away from you for a while."

Bariki sniffled, "Thank you."

"That's OK. You can sleep with me tonight. Come on."

Kovu took Bariki over to where he was sleeping with Kiara. Reassured, the young lion lay down beside his dad and the pair were soon off to sleep. Father and son next to each other in peace. And this time the cub wasn't interrupted. This time the night went on how it was meant to, quiet and empty. Peaceful.


End file.
